A head bobbed up close to him, and, swimming quickly forward, Frank struck out heavily with his left fist.  The fist came in contact with a face and Frank grinned as he realized that the blow had gone home.  Again he waited for Davis to come to the surface.

The latter did so a moment later, but succeeded in dodging the heavy blow that the lad aimed at him.  He disappeared again almost immediately and a second time the lad felt himself seized in a tight embrace which drew him under.

Immediately he felt the hold upon his legs relax and a hand seized him by the throat.

This time Frank had taken a breath before being pulled under, for the lad was not to be caught napping twice in the same way, and he felt that he could remain beneath the water as long as his opponent.

But the grasp on his throat was strangling him and the lad realized that desperate measures were necessary to free himself.

He swung his right arm low in the water, at the same moment seizing the hand that grasped his throat with his left.  His right hand found its mark and at the same moment the lad gave a quick jerk with his left hand.  The grip upon his throat weakened, and, as Frank struck a second time, was released altogether.

Almost immediately, however, a pair of arms closed about his legs again, holding him tight and carrying him down.  With his two hands Frank felt about him blindly, and at last encountered a head.  He reached farther down and then gripped Davis by the throat with both hands and pressed them together.

Davis was threshing about in the water in an effort to release this desperate clutch without altogether loosening his hold upon the lad.  Frank’s lungs seemed about to burst now and he struggled desperately to push Davis away from him, at the same time maintaining his grip.  Things grew blacker than ever beneath the dark water; and then, suddenly, the lad lost consciousness.

When Frank opened his eyes again he found himself in a small boat, with nothing in sight but blue water and the sun beating down upon him, shielded slightly from his face by what he took to to be a coat.  The lad rubbed his eyes and attempted to sit up; then fell back with a faint moan.

This sound brought a second figure to his side and Frank felt a hand upon his head as a well-known voice said: 

“How do you feel, old man?”

Frank recognized the voice instantly.  The speaker was Jack.  Things came back to Frank immediately and with an effort he sat up.

“How did I get here?” he demanded.  “The last I seem to remember is tipping Davis out of a boat.  Then what happened?”

“Then you don’t remember a struggle beneath the water?” asked Jack.

Frank racked his brain and a moment later it came back to him.

“Yes, I do,” he replied.  “I remember he seized me by the legs and I went under.  Then I grabbed him by the neck and tried to push him away, but he clung and clung—­and clung—­and clung—­and that’s all I can remember.”