Poor George voiced a vehement protest, in self defense. "Good God, Sergeant!" he expostulated, "d'you think I'd come to you with a yarn like that? I tell you it is there. Have another try. Sling farther over to the right here!"
Grumblingly, the latter complied, and began the slow recover. Suddenly, the rope checked. Slavin strained a moment, then he turned around to the expectant group. "Got ut'" he announced grimly. "I can tell by th' feel av ut. Tail on tu th' rope there, all av yez! Now! Yeo! Heave ho!"
Like a tug of war team they all bowed their backs and strained with all their might; but their efforts proved futile. "Vast heavin!" said Slavin, breathing heavily. "'Tis shtuck somehow—I will have tu get th' team an' double-trees. Get a log off'n that breakwater, bhoys, so's th' rope will not cut inta th' edge av th' bank."
He crossed over to the horses. "Now!" said he, some minutes later, as he backed up the team and made all fast to the double-trees. "Yu', Reddy, an' Lanky, guide th' rope over th' log. Yu', Yorkey, get th' feel av ut, an' give me th' wurrd. I du not want to break ut."
Yorke leant over the edge of the bank, loosely feeling the rope. "All right!" he announced.
Slavin, edging his team cautiously forward, and taking the strain to avoid a violent jerk, clucked to them. With a scramble, and a steady heave of their powerful hind-quarters, they started.
With bated breath the watchers gazed at the rope—creeping foot by foot out of the discoloured water.
"Keep a-going!" Yorke shouted to Slavin. "It's coming up, all right!"
It came. Arising slowly and sullenly out of the depths they beheld a horrible, dripping, shapeless something that eventually resolved itself into a human body—clothed in torn rags and matted with river-refuse.
Then, to the salvagers, came the most astounding and sinister revelation of all. Startled oaths burst from them as they beheld now what had retarded their first pull. Bound tightly to the body with rusted wire was a huge, hand-squared block of stone. The sergeant's last and successful cast had resulted in two prongs of the grappling-irons catching in the enveloping wire.