He presently detected a certain motion of the water at a point a
little to one side of his course, and in a moment steered his boat
for that place, but not at too great speed.

He had calculated right, for when the boy came up Jack was within
two feet of him and quickly made up the distance, reached out,
caught him under the arms, and, by a dexterous move, lifted him
into the boat.

The boy was nearly exhausted, but upon Jack's speaking cheerily
to him, he revived sufficiently to assist his rescuer, and his
getting into the boat was attended with no accident.

He collapsed when he was in, however, and Jack put for the shore
at a rapid pace, a number of the boys being ready to take the
fainting boy out as they came up the shelving beach.

"Why didn't you go to the boy's aid, Herring?" asked Percival,
as the bully came in. "Couldn't you see that he had a cramp?"

"I have had that trick played on me before," retorted Herring in
a surly tone. "How was I to know that it was real?"

"Our boys do not resort to such tricks?" declared the leader of the
visiting team warmly, "and I do not think that the Hilltop boys in
general can be accused of doing so."

"I don't know what you fellows do," said the other in the same
surly tone, "because I have seen very little of you, but I know