The Rover Boys in the Land of Luck: or, Stirring Adventures in the Oil Fields. Stratemeyer Edward
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"There is a whole lot of good firewood going to waste."
"I guess some one will pick it up by the time it reaches the lake, Fred," said Randy. "There are a lot of poor people down at Haven Point who get all their Winter firewood from this river."
"Yes, but it's not all driftwood," broke in Jack. "A good deal of the timber is cut up in the woods and then floated down. That is quite an industry among some of the old settlers up there."
The four cadets did not pause very long to survey the scene. Their one idea was to find some sort of shelter from the storm; and with this in view they hurried on parallel to the watercourse until they came to the point of rocks commonly known as the Bend. Here the side of the river on which they were located arose to a height of from twenty to thirty feet. In one place there was a sheer rocky wall, but at other places the rocks were much broken up, and consequently, irregular.
"There is the shelter I had in mind," said Fred, pointing with his hand. "Come on; I think it will be just the place to get out of this storm."
"Any kind of a shelter will be better than standing out here," answered Randy, and he and Fred set off on a wild scramble over the slippery rocks with the others following.
"Be careful that you don't sprain an ankle or break a leg," warned Jack.
"Gee! a fellow would have to be a regular grasshopper to jump over these rocks," grumbled Randy, and he had scarcely uttered the words when he slipped down, landing with a thump on his chest.
"Hurt?" queried Jack quickly.
"N-no," spluttered his cousin. "B-but I kn-kn-knocked the wind out of m-me."
In a minute more the boys had reached the shelter of the rocks where they overhung the Rick Rack River. Here they found a shelter several feet above the madly rushing torrent. The place was twelve or fifteen feet in length, and several feet in depth. Above them was a shelving rock which, while it did not shelter them completely, did much to ward off the heavy downpour of rain.
"Not as comfortable as a Morris chair in the library at school," remarked Andy, as he swished the water from his cap, "but it's a good deal better than being in the open."
"Provided we do not have to stay here too long," returned his twin. "What time is it, Jack? I didn't bring my watch with me."
"Quarter to five," announced the young captain, after consulting his wrist-watch.
"We ought to be on our way to the Hall," said Fred. "I don't know what Captain Dale will say if we are late."
"Oh, he'll excuse us when he learns the truth," answered Jack. "Just the same, I'd give a good deal if we were back safe and sound at the school. We certainly can't stay here all night, and it looks as if this storm was going to be a lasting one."
"Maybe we are in for another couple of weeks of rain," growled Andy. "Gee! I wish the Weather Bureau would go out of existence. They have been predicting clearing weather for over a week, and it never came at all."
Crouching down in the shelter of the overhanging rocks, the four cadets made themselves as comfortable as possible. Over them and out on the river swished the wind and the rain. Just below them the mountain torrent boiled and foamed with increasing violence, showing that the heavy downpour was making matters steadily worse.
"I shouldn't want to have a cabin on the edge of this stream," remarked Fred presently.
"Not much!" exclaimed Andy. "You'd be in danger every minute of having it floated away."
"Look there, will you?" cried Randy a moment later, as he pointed out in the stream. "If that isn't a chicken-coop then I miss my guess!"
"You're right! And it's got one or two chickens in it!" burst out Jack.
"That shows that some of the farm lands up the river must be under water," remarked Andy.
"Maybe we'll see a house or a barn coming down next," cried Fred. "Gee, this certainly is some storm!" he added, as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. Then came the thunder, rolling and rumbling along the river and the mountains beyond.
A quarter of an hour passed, and while the wind blew as violently as ever, it seemed to the impatient cadets that the rain was slackening a little.
"Maybe it will let up in the next half-hour or so," remarked Jack hopefully. "Then, if we strike out for the turnpike, we'll be able to get down to the Hall in no time."
"Oh, sure! Only three miles through the mud; and of course that's nothing," remarked Andy airily.
All of the boys were sitting in silence, wondering what their next move would be, when Jack suddenly raised his hand as if to listen.
"What was it?" queried Randy quickly.
"I thought I heard a yell for help," was the reply. "Listen!"
All did so, and presently above the rushing of the wind heard a man's voice. Then came a shrill scream as if from a younger person.
"Somebody is in trouble!" cried Fred. "Listen! He is calling again!"
All strained their ears, and once more heard the yells of the man borne along by the rushing wind. Then came that other shrill cry, as if for assistance.
"They are in trouble, all right!"
"Where are they?"
"That cry came from up the river. Whoever they are, they must be right around the Bend."
"Come on! Let's see what it means."
With these and other exclamations the four Rover boys left the shelter of the overhanging rocks and crawled along a stony pathway leading up the watercourse. Soon they passed around the Bend, and then came within sight of a scene which almost appalled them. A mass of wreckage consisting of a small tree and a quantity of newly cut timber had come down the stream and become caught among the jagged rocks above the Bend, and in the midst of this wreckage, with the water rushing and foaming all around them, were a man and a boy, struggling wildly to save themselves from drowning!
CHAPTER II
WHO THE ROVER BOYS WERE
"Look there, will you!"
"That man and boy will surely be drowned!"
"Why don't they swim ashore?"
"Most likely the stream is running too swiftly for them."
"Help! Help!" came hoarsely from the man. Evidently his exertions were beginning to exhaust him.
"Save me! Save me!" screamed the boy, who seemed to be about Jack's age. "Save me! Don't let me drown!"
The two unfortunate victims had caught sight of the cadets, who had by this time come as close to them as the rocks on the bank permitted. The man waved his arm frantically toward them.
"Can't you swim?" yelled Jack, to make himself heard above the wind and the rushing of the water.
"I'm caught fast!" the man gasped out. "And my son is caught fast too."
"Both of my feet are fast!" screamed the boy. "Oh, please help us! Don't leave us here to be drowned!"
"It's a couple of logs of wood that are holding us," went on the man in a hoarser tone than ever. "They are jammed in between us and some rocks and a floating tree. If you can only start the tree, maybe we can get out of here."
Both the man and the boy were in the rushing water up to their armpits, and occasionally the dashing element would fly over them in a spray that hid them completely from view.
"Oh, boys, this is awful!" groaned Fred. "Can't we do something for them?"
"We've got to do something," answered Jack. "We can't leave them there to drown."
"But what are we going to do?" demanded Andy soberly.
"He said something about loosening the tree that has drifted up alongside them," came from Randy. "Do you think we can do it, Jack?"
"I don't know. But we can have a try at it, anyway. And if we can't push the tree, maybe we can get at the logs that are holding them down."
Jack was looking up the river