“Maybe we had better turn into shore now.”
“I think so myself. We don’t want to run into anything.”
They started to turn the canoe around. To their surprise the water began to boil and foam on all sides of them. Then came a grating sound from the bottom.
“We just ran over a rock!” cried Dave. “Henry, this is getting dangerous!”
“I think so myself, Dave. Come, we will make for the shore over yonder. Perhaps—— Oh!”
Henry’s remarks came to a sudden ending, as the canoe swept swiftly under the low-hanging branch of a big tree. The young hunter was standing up at the time, and he was carried overboard in a flash, paddle in hand. Then the canoe struck a rock, slid up along some tree-roots, and began to fill with water!
CHAPTER VI
BACK TO THE FORT
Henry was so taken by surprise that it was not until he found himself over his head in the river he realized what had occurred. His shoulder struck a rock, but the blow was of small moment. He came up, spluttering and still holding the paddle.
“Whe—where are you, Dave?” was his first question, as he dashed the water from his eyes.
There was no answer, and in the mist and darkness he could see nothing. He struck out, and soon reached a spot where he could stand on the rocky bottom of the watercourse. He was under some tree-limbs, and knew that the shore must be close at hand.