"Russ has gone down," announced Frane. "He's gone down after the catfish."
"Lawsy me!" exclaimed Mammy June. "Is that li'le boy got into the branch?"
Rose and Vi and Laddie and Margy and Mun Bun, as well as the two Armatage girls, all came running, too. For the first minute none of them understood what had happened to Russ.
But when they reached the bank of the stream they saw something splashing in the middle of the pool under the bridge. They couldn't see Russ, but they knew that something was struggling there.
"Is that a fish?" demanded Laddie. "It must be a whale."
"Oh!" shrieked Rose. "It's Russ! He'll be drowned!"
"Don't let him get wet, Rose," cried Margy. "Mother won't want him to get his clothes wet."
But if there was any part of Russ Bunker that was not wet when he managed to get on his feet and his head and shoulders appeared above the water, Rose couldn't imagine what part it could be. He was just the wettest boy she had ever seen.
Russ had got a footing finally upon the stone beside which the big catfish had lain. The water was too deep all around him for him to wade out. The bottom of the pool was so deep that it was over the boy's head. He had to stand on the rock and gasp for breath for he had swallowed a good deal of water, having gone down with his mouth open.
"What did I tell you?" demanded Frane, Junior, from the bank. "You couldn't catch that cat."