There was a moment of stunned silence. Then twenty voices broke into ejaculations of surprise and dismay, and the bearer of the tidings was surrounded by a questioning group.

Dan sat an instant sick and faint. Then he leaped to his feet and thrust his way through the cluster of questioning fellows.

“I don’t believe it,” he said forcibly. “Where’d you hear it?”

“It’s all over school,” answered the boy. “They brought them back just now, and they’re in Merle. And Arthur Thompson was with them, and—”

“Thompson!” cried Dan. “Was he there?”

“Look here, Billy,” said Millener sternly, “did you see the—the bodies?”

“No, I was in the village. Joe Dexter told me just now in front of Oxford.”

“Did he see them?”

“I think so. Anyhow, it’s true, Millener.”

Dan felt a clutch on his arm and looked around into the anxious face of Alf.

[261]

“Come,” he said gruffly, “and let’s find out the truth about this. Where’s your jacket?”

“I don’t know; I don’t need it. Come on.” As they ran across to the entrance of Merle Hall, Dan turned fiercely to Alf. “If it’s true,” he said, “and that chap Thompson had anything to do with it, I’ll wring his neck! I’ll half kill him!”

“And I’ll help,” answered Alf grimly.

The corridor of the building was filled with an excited throng of fellows, attracted by the wild rumors which had spread about the school. Alf seized on the first fellow he met.

“Here,” he demanded, “what’s the truth about this? Has any one been drowned?”

“They don’t know yet,” was the reply. “They’re working over him now. They say—”

“Working over who?” interrupted Dan.

“Harry Merrow. They say he was under the water almost five minutes, and—”

“And Pennimore?” gasped Dan.

“He’s all right. And Thompson, too. They were here a minute ago.” Their informant glanced eagerly around in the hope of being able to exhibit them. “They had an awful time getting him up. He was stuck in the mud. Look, here comes the doctor now!”

It was the physician from Greenburg, and with[262] him was Mr. Collins. The crowd in the corridor stopped talking and made way for them. The doctor viewed the anxious faces around him and paused.

“Now, I’m going to ask you boys to be very quiet this evening,” he announced. “Your friend is doing very nicely, but I want him to have a good long sleep. So just as little noise as possible, please!”

He passed on, and a murmur of relief grew and spread in the hall. Then by ones and twos the fellows withdrew from the building or crept tip-toeing to their rooms. Dan and Alf were already hurrying across the Yard to Clarke.

“Gee,” said Dan, taking a long breath, “I was scared!”

“So was I,” replied Alf soberly.

When they opened the door of Number 28, Gerald, attired in his dressing-gown, was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking ruefully at a pair of water-soaked white buckskin shoes. He dropped them when he saw Dan and Alf, and cried anxiously:

“How is he now?” Then he saw Dan’s white face, faltered, and sank down heavily on the bed. “He’s not—not dead?” he whispered.

“No, the doctor says he will be all right,” answered Dan hurriedly.

[263]

“Oh! You looked so—so white that I was afraid—”

“Why shouldn’t he look white?” demanded Alf gruffly. “We heard you were both drowned, you and Merrow. Some silly fool came over to the gym and told us.”

“Me? Oh, I—I’m sorry,” answered Gerald troubledly. “I didn’t know—”

“Well, you needn’t look so sad about it,” said Dan, with a little laugh as he sat down. “All’s well that ends well, but you certainly had us pretty well scared. Look here, Gerald, how about your father? Do you suppose he’s heard the yarn?”

“No.” Gerald reached over to the table and looked at his watch. “He isn’t home yet. I was going over there, but the doctor says I must go to bed. I am kind of played out. We had to paddle pretty fast coming back.”

“Who was with you?” asked Alf.

“Thompson. That was funny, wasn’t it? I guess if he hadn’t come just when he did Harry would have drowned.” He stopped and shivered.

“Here, you lie down there and pull the covers over you,” said Dan. “You’d better go to sleep, too.”

“No, I couldn’t go to sleep, really!” cried Gerald. “I’d rather talk.” But he followed Dan’s advice and snuggled down under a blanket.

[264]

“How did it happen?” asked Alf. “I can’t make heads nor tails of it.”

So Gerald told his story. Part of it we already know. The rest Gerald told as follows:

“When I went down I kept my eyes open and saw him almost at once. I thought he was drowned already, for he didn’t seem to be struggling at all, just lying down there in the mud on top of a lot of sunken branches and rubbish. He was only three or four yards from the bank, but the pond is real deep there. There’s a sort of channel where the water has cut along the side. Well, I grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to bring him up. He came about a foot and then held. I pulled and tugged, but couldn’t raise him. I stayed down until I thought my head was going to burst open, and then I came up. And as I got my head out of water and took a breath I heard a splash and saw some one dive by me. It was all terribly confused. I didn’t even wonder who the other fellow was. I just filled up with air and went down again. It was hard to see now, for the water was all roiled up with mud and sediment from the bottom, but I could make out that the other fellow had his arms around Harry and was pulling. So I got hold, too, and pulled, and all of a sudden he came away in our arms, and we came up with him and managed to get him up[265] on the bank. Then I saw that the other fellow was Thompson.”

“How did he happen to be there?” asked Dan.

“Just by accident. He was in his canoe by himself, coming down the river, when he heard our voices across on the lake, and thought he’d paddle in and see who we were. Just before he got through the channel he heard the spla............