It was exciting work for Dale and Owen. The logs bobbed up and down along the shore and more than one threatened to take the young lumbermen off their feet. They were now in water up to their knees and working as hard as anybody. Herrick had come over to their side, and was issuing directions with the rapidity of a Gatling gun.
"Hump yeourselves!" he roared. "Swing thet log over! Look out or ye'll git struck. Throw thet log in fer a minit. Now then, all together on this here pile. Hump! I tell ye! I didn't take no man along to go to sleep on this job!" And everybody "humped," until he was bathed in perspiration and ready to drop from exhaustion.
Three-quarters of the logs had passed the turn and the rocks, and old Herrick and the majority of the men had gone ahead to take care of the drive at the next difficult spot, when there came another jam, this time on the rocks close to where Dale and Owen were standing.
"Gracious! this won't do!" exclaimed Owen. "See how the logs are piling up again. I'll have to release them!" And he began to move across the logs with his cant-hook.
"Look out!" came in warning from Dale, and then he ran to his chum's assistance, carrying an ax.
The pair were hard at work, turning aside one log and chopping at another, when there came a cry from up the river:
"Look out there! Danbury's drive is coming!"
Both looked up the stream and saw that the warning was true. Another drive of logs was coming on swiftly. In a twinkling it hit the back logs of the Paxton drive, and sent them up close to where Dale and Owen were standing. The spray flew in all directions, and to their horror those standing on shore saw the two young lumbermen slip and slide on the upheaving timbers and then disappear from view.