came screaming to the cabin:

"He's gone down! He's gone down!"

"What is the matter with you, Frane?" demanded the old woman, coming
heavily down off the porch. "Who's gone down? Wha's he gone down to?"

"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