in his excitement.

"I don't know," Hal admitted. "He's pretty far out."

Just then a life-saver came along. Freddie always insisted the
life-guards were not white people, because they were so awfully
browned from the sun, and really, this one looked like some foreigner,
for he was almost black.

"What's the trouble?" he asked, seeing Freddie's distress.

"Oh, Downy is gone!" cried the little fellow in tears now.

"Gone!" exclaimed the guard, thinking Downy was some boy who had swam
out too far.

"Yes, see him out there," sobbed Freddie, and before the other boys
had a chance to tell the guard that Downy was only a duck, the
life-saver was in his boat, and pulling out toward the spot where
Freddie said Downy was "downing"!

"There's someone drowning!" went up the cry all around. Then numbers
of men and boys, who had been bathing, plunged into the waves, and
followed the life-saver out to the deeper water.

It was useless for Harry, Hal, or Bert to try to explain to anyone
about the duck, for the action of the life-saver told a different
story. Another guard had come down to the beach now, and was getting
his ropes ready, besides opening up the emergency case, that was
locked in the boat on the shore.