“I—I dropped—my—myself—in!” gasped Laddie. “Oh, Russ, I’m all the way—in! I—I’m all—the—way—in!”
CHAPTER XIX
A FIGHT
Russ sprang to his feet, knocking aside the pieces of his mill in doing so, and rushed around the bush to see what had happened to Laddie. It was just as the smaller boy had said—he had fallen in the deepest part of the water back of the dam.
But, after all, it was not very deep, for the brook was a small one. The water would not have been over Laddie’s head if he stood upright. But the trouble was that Laddie had slipped as he was about to lift a heavy stone on top of the dam, and had gone down sideways.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Russ shouted, as he saw Laddie floundering and struggling in the water.
“I—I guess—blub—blub—glub-ub!” was what Laddie answered.
He started to say that he guessed he could get out by himself, when his foot slipped on some mud at the bottom of the brook and his face went under water.
“Oh, Laddie!” cried Russ in alarm.
But he need not have been worried, for Laddie managed to get up on his feet again, and by this time Russ was beside him, holding out his hands to his small brother to help him to shore.
“Are you hurt?” Russ asked, as Laddie, gasping for breath and with water dripping from every part of him, stood on the bank of the brook.