He pulled away at the cords on his wrist, but for a long time was unable to move them beyond the limit of the motion which had enabled him to use a fork at his breakfast.

"I wonder," he thought, "why they didn't give me a knife to eat that ham with. Never mind, I can make a knife of my own."

He set his elbow against an earthen plate which lay on the ground, breaking it into several pieces. The largest fragment, he got into his mouth and began to saw his wrist ropes against it. The strands of the rope soon gave way and the boy's hands were free. It took him but a moment to untie the cords which held his ankles.

Thus released, he listened for a moment to make sure that the two men in the edge of the thicket were not observing him. All was still in that direction and he finally ventured to the opening of the tent and looked out. The two men were nowhere in sight.

"Now or never," thought the boy. "While those fellows are cooking up some scheme for the destruction of the _Rambler_, I'll make a quiet sneak. The peninsula must be crowded with outlaws, all in search of a lost channel, and so I'll have to take to the river."

The boy was out of the glade in an instant, crouching low, of course, but making good time until he reached the margin of the river. Hoping to see a boat, he paused there a moment and looked about. As he did so, the roar of the falls which had obstructed the progress of the _Rambler_ on her first trip to that vicinity, reached his ears and he knew that a boat would be practically useless, as it would never live through the falling water. The only thing for him to do, seemed to be to take to the water and keep as much out of sight as possible under the bank.

He sprang in and struck out down stream wondering if he could pa.s.s the falls without returning to the sh.o.r.e. After swimming a few strokes, he heard a shout from the bank and saw the leader and the cook hastening toward the river. The current was strong there just above the falls and the boy was an excellent swimmer, so the men did not decrease the distance between themselves and their quarry.

"If you don't stop, we'll shoot!" the cook cried.

"And shoot to kill!" came the voice of the leader.

For a moment Clay swam on blindly under a rain of bullets but he had no idea whatever of voluntarily returning to the sh.o.r.e. The leaden pellets splashed into the water all about him for a time but presently as the men got better range, they began making closer acquaintance.

The roar of the falls was now almost deafening. The boy could hear a torrent of water pouring down upon broken rocks. He knew now that it would be impossible for him to negotiate the falls by way of the river. He must swim to the sh.o.r.e and pa.s.s around the danger point.

This would subject him to the direct fire of his pursuers.

At last, almost hopeless, he dived into the water to escape the rain of bullets. To his surprise, he did not come to the surface again when he used his strength in that direction.

Either his body had lost its buoyancy or the water was pulling him down. He seemed to be in a whirlpool. The force of the water drew at his arms and his legs and clutched him about the chest. Around and around he whirled, until he grew dizzy with the motion and his lungs seemed bursting for want of air.

Then, almost unconscious, he knew that he was being drawn through an opening into which the water poured with awful force. He knew that he was being tossed to and fro in something like a basin or pool a moment later, and felt the fresh air creeping into his lungs.

The water where he lay did not seem to be more than three or four feet deep but the current was swift and steady. There was no light anywhere. The boy groped forward with his hands outstretched until he came to what seemed to be a ledge of rock. There, exhausted and almost unconscious from his exertions, he dropped down and his mind became a blank.

When he returned to consciousness, a single shaft of light penetrating the darkness of the place showed him to be in a cavern the dimensions of which he had no means of knowing. The ledge upon which he had fallen lay a yard or so above the surface of an underground stream. He could see the light glancing on the water and hear the roar of the whirlpool which had brought him into this subterranean place.

"I've found the lost channel, I guess," he thought bitterly, "and I guess there'll be two of us lost--a lost river and a lost boy."

After a time, he felt his way along the ledge only to find that it came to an abrupt termination against a shoulder of rock.

CHAPTER XXII

WHAT THE EDDY BROUGHT UP

When Case and Jule gained the deck of the _Rambler_, crying that Alex was back in the forest pursued by the outlaws, Captain Joe laid out a choice a.s.sortment of automatic revolvers along the deck behind the starboard gunwale. The dripping boys crouched down and waited.

"He wasn't very far behind us," Case said directly.

"Yes," Jule put in. "He ought to be here before long."

Captain Joe, watching the boys whimsically, pushed the revolvers around so they would be within easy reach. The deck looked like an armory.

"You outrun him, did you, lads?" the old captain asked.

"We wanted to stay back and come in with him," Case explained, "but he wouldn't have it. He said that if we separated and ran in different directions, one party would be pretty sure to get in, while we might all be captured if we stuck together. He was right, of course, but we hated to leave him. He ought to be here in a minute or two."

"Did he say where Clay was?" asked Captain Joe.

"We didn't have much chance to talk with him," Case answered. "The outlaws were swarming over the peninsula, and kept us ducking and dodging most of the time. There must be a dozen or more toughs in there."

There was no more firing from the sh.o.r.e for a time, and those on board the _Rambler_ hoped that Alex had succeeded in eluding his pursuers.

Presently the bushes at the margin of the stream parted and a face looked out--a heavy bearded face with fierce eyes.

"Good evening, pard!" Jule called out. "Come aboard!"

The fellow disappeared without making any reply.

"That settles it!" Case exclaimed. "We won't see Alex right away. The outlaws haven't caught him, and so they are watching along the sh.o.r.e in the hopes of picking him up when he leaves the thicket. I'd like to throw a stick of dynamite in there and blow up the whole outfit."

The supposition that Alex would not be seen at that time proved to be incorrect, however, for a shout was now heard from the launch, and Alex was seen waving a cap from the c.o.c.kpit.

The cap soon disappeared from sight, however, for bullets began dropping down from the sh.o.r.e. On the _Rambler_, the boys were behind the heavy gunwales, and Alex was hidden by the c.o.c.kpit walls so, beyond splintering the railings and making havoc in the finely-decorated cabin of the launch, the bullets did no damage.

"Now, how do you think that little customer got out to the launch without getting perforated?" asked Case.

"He swam out, of course," replied Jule, "--he just ducked under and swam out. I wish we could get him on board the _Rambler_."

"Now, that tow-line," Case said, "is too long. The boy can't swim under water all that distance. Can't we pull the launch up?"

"Nothing in the world to prevent it," said Captain Joe. "If we can get the end of the line into the cabin, the launch will come up like a duck. Then Alex can come aboard without much danger."

This plan was adopted. The _Cartier_ was easily drawn up to the stern of the _Rambler_ and Alex stepped aboard.

In a moment he was lying behind the gunwale with the others.

"Where did you say Clay was?" asked Captain Joe.

"I haven't seen him for a long time," was the reply. "We saw that wharf rat, Max, in the forest and I started away to follow him. At that time Clay was coming toward the boat. I thought he might be here."

"And so Max has shown up again, has he?" cried Case. "We'll have to land that boy where he won't be so active."

While the boys were discussing the situation a grating, flopping sound was heard in the cabin, and Jule rushed in just in time to see the cable which had held the _Cartier_ to the _Rambler_ drawing through the open window. In the excitement of getting Alex on board, the boys had neglected to secure the line and the launch was now dropping down stream.

Jule sprang for the end of the line, but did not reach it. It dropped down to the after deck and was drawn into the water.

"That's a nice thing!" shouted the boy, rushing to the motors. "Now we've got to go down and catch that boat!"