The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-07-29

4 IT
 - ,st d,ed out behind the thick masses
 z&N{8Wn of the forest as Barnes worked his
 vav down the valley. The heat in the v.ndless underbrush alive with in- .+,a,nr He decided to make once more L.. .h. hank of the stream, in the hope that us x.rb.r.oter might by this time have changed so as I....rr-a him an easier and more open path Press
 ,.a6a to his left he presently saw the green k n.a.., before him. Blue sky and golden kn-ht o.me low through the thinning trees; anu k4n.n . slsam of unrufned water He was nearing E.,. .dea now: and because the underbrush was E., tbick.about him he began to go cautiously. # An .t once he felt his feet sinking: and the k,rre.n of thick bushes before him leaned away as se bowed by a heavy gust. Desperately he clutch I,.a ,,tb both hands at the undergrowth and sap kynrs on either side but they all gave way with L.,r 1, a smother of leafage and binding. lash i Ing branches he sank downward-at hrst as IL seemed. slowly, for he had time to think many shines while his heart jumping in his throat Enan shooting through the lighter bushy com ,,nions of his fall and stin clutchng convuisivey l ;st those upon which he had been able to lay his grasp, he plunged feet first into dark water. The water was deep, and cold. Barnes went flown straight, and clear under, with strangled gasp. His feet struck. with some force, upon tangled. yielding mass, from which he rose again with a spring. His head shot above the surface. shove the swirl of foam, leafage, and debris; and sputteringly he sgulped his lnngs full of air. But before he could clear his eyes or his nostrils or recover his self-possession he stealthily drag ged down again With pang of horror he real ized that he was caught by the foot
 powerful swimmer, Barnes struck out mighti iy with his arms and came to the surface again It once, rising beyond the shoulders. But by so much the more was he violently snatched back k4ime to empty his lungs and catch breath. This ame the shock sobered him. flashing the full peril kDf the situation before his startled consciousness whh tremendous effort of will he stopped his 9add1ing to keep upright. This time he came more softly to the surface. clear beyond the chin The ! soam. and debris and turbulence of little waves. 6sethed about his lps and the sunlight danced fusingiy in his streaming eyes; but he gulped sresa1 lungful before he again went down. Padding warly now, he emerged again at once fand. with arms outspread. brought himself to . precarlous equilibrium mouth just clearing the keurfacs % long as he held his head we'll back Keeping very still, he let his bewildered wits bpose themselves and the agtated surface settle to tnuiet
 He was in deep. tranquil cove hardly stirred by an eddy. Some ten paces farther out from the shore the main current swirled past sullen1y, if weary from the turbulence of falls and rapids. 5utting out from the leafy shore, shone golden in the sun- Up and down the stream. far as his extremely restricted vision would suffer him to see nothing but thick overhanging branches and the sullen current. Very cautiously he turned his head-though to do so brought the water over his nps-and saw behind him just what he ex- pected The high, almost perpendicular bank was scared by gash of bright raw reddish earth where the brink had slipped away beneath his weight.
 Just within reach of his hand lay half sub- merged. the thick 1eafy top of fallen poplar sapng,S it's roots apparently still clinging to the bank Gently he laid hold of it. testing it. in the hope that it might prove solid enough to enable him to haul himself out. But it away n-