There was no answer, and the boys all gazed in a frightened way at each other.
“Here, Burr major, rouse up,” cried Mr Rebble, shaking the long, thin lad, as he knelt down on one knee. “Who was it? Any one with you?”
The boy’s eyes opened a little, he looked up wildly, and, trying to rise, pointed again to the middle of the pool.
“Was—by me,” he moaned—“went down.”
“Never mind who it is,” roared Lomax, literally tearing off his clothes. “Now, boys—divers. In with you!”
His loudly-spoken command acted like magic upon us, and Mercer, Hodson, and I dashed into the water abreast, and swam for the middle of the pool, where in turn we began to dive down and try if we could find our luckless school-fellow, whoever he might be, but without result.
“That’s right,” cried Lomax, as I came up, for he had joined us in an incredibly short space of time. “Keep trying. This way.”
He stretched out his arms, joined his hands as high as he could above his head, so that their weight should help to sink him, and he slowly went down out of sight, while, as fast as our efforts would allow, we boys went down and tried to search about, gradually extending the distance from each other in obedience to the orders shouted to us from the bank.
I suppose it was in ten feet water, about thirty yards from the great embankment, where we dived down most, but our attempts became more feeble, and I found myself at last swimming heavily close to Lomax, whose fierce-looking head suddenly rose close to my hand.
“Does nobody know anything about where the boy went down?” he roared; but there was no answer, and he panted out,—