The Boy with the U. S. Weather Men | Page 8

see
how it goes."
Suiting the action to the word, Ross tied one end of the line of sheets
around the hinge of the door, passed it through the window, and, to the
other end, tied a spare crutch. Then he leaned out of the window and
watched it. The current snatched the crutch down and, as Ross expected,
swung it around the corner of the house.
"Fine," said the lad. "We can work that all right. I'll have you out of
here in two shakes, Anton. Where are the pups?"

Anton pointed to the bed, on which a basket was lying.
"Aren't they dandies?" he said.
Ross took the candle over and picked up one of the pups. Lassie
growled in a low voice.
"All right, Lassie," said Ross, "you ought to know me."
He bent down and patted her.
The dog smelt his hand and whacked her tail on the floor in token of
recognition, but growled again, nevertheless.
"I won't hurt your pup," declared Ross, putting the blind little creature
back in the basket.
"Nicely marked, Anton," he said, "they look great. But we've got to get
busy."
He went to the head of the staircase and stared down.
"It doesn't look a bit nice," he declared, "I sort of hate to go through
there again."
"Why do you?" queried Anton. "You could go down the line and reach
the boat that way."
"That's an idea," declared Ross thoughtfully, then he shook his head.
"No," he said, "my weight would swing the crutch out clear away from
the house. I'd better go down the way I came up. I can always get back,
anyway."
He ran down the staircase until the water reached to his chest and then
struck out. The water had risen slightly, but he got through the door
without any trouble. Passing through the window he was not so lucky,
for a projecting splinter of glass scraped him as he dived through,
making a long but shallow cut in the upper part of his arm.

Rex welcomed him back with short joyful barks.
"I'm not a bit sure," said Ross as he patted the dog, "whether it was
Anton or the pups that you wanted me to rescue, eh? Which was it?"
For answer Rex only wagged his tail and jumped up on his young
master.
"Down, Rex, down," ordered Ross, "this boat's too cranky for that sort
of thing. Now, where's that crutch?"
In the darkness and the pouring rain it was hard to distinguish anything,
but the white gleam of the sheets showed where the crutch was floating.
"Out of reach," muttered Ross in disgust. "Just my luck! How am I
going to get it?"
It was a problem. The crutch was floating on the current above twelve
feet beyond the reach of the boat's painter, let out to its utmost length.
By stretching out with one of the oars, Ross was about four feet short.
Just four feet, but so far as success was concerned, it might as well
have been four miles.
If he jumped from the boat and swam for it, there was always a chance
that the current would pluck him down before he could grasp the line,
and then he would not only be in danger himself, but he would have
lost all chance of saving his crippled friend. As long as he stayed either
with the boat or with the house, there was a chance. It would be
foolhardy to lose connection with both.
Then a brilliant idea struck him. Suppose he tied the painter of the boat
under his arms, loosed the boat from the post and jumped into the water.
He ought to reach the floating line before the current had taken up the
slack of the boat's painter. If he left loose a long enough end, with a
loop knot, he could fasten the rope from the boat to the line of sheets,
and the boat would be made fast. The loop knot would unfasten itself
and he could easily clamber into the boat, from the stern, since it was
fastened to the line coming out from Anton's window. Then he could

haul up the boat, hand over hand, as agreed upon, take Anton and the
puppies aboard and strike out straight for the shore.
No sooner was the idea conceived than Ross proceeded to put it into
action. Slipping the line around his arms, once, he tied a loop knot in
front of his chest, where it would be easy to reach, leaving about three
feet of rope hanging, untied the painter and shoved off the boat. The
instant that the boat felt the current it yawed around, but, at the same
moment, Ross jumped out and forward with all his might. The action
sent