But he kept on, and in another moment a head once more bobbed up, with Puss threshing the water frantically.  Once he had gone down.  According to what most people said, he would possibly vanish twice more, and after that never rise again.

If anything was to be done, there was no time for delay.  Frank was within ten feet of the struggling figure when it came up.  He immediately dove, and managed to rise to the surface behind Puss.  Then, just as the other was floundering beneath the surface of the agitated water again, Frank caught hold of his sweater close to his neck, and held on with might and main.

He had a serious job of it, for the half-drowned lad made a desperate attempt to turn around, doubtless with the intention of throwing his arms around his rescuer.  This was just what Frank was desirous of avoiding.  He simply wanted to keep the head of Puss above water until the boat could come and willing hands be stretched down to relieve him of his burden.

So he kept treading water and fighting Puss off as best he was able.  It was no easy task, since he still had his baseball shoes on; and swimming in one’s clothes is always a difficult proposition.  But Frank knew no such word as fail and continued to strive, keeping one eye on Puss and the other on the approaching power boat.

“Steady now, Puss!” he kept saying, again and again, trying to instill some sense in the head of the frantic boy, who still believed he must be going down again.  “Keep your breath in your lungs and you’ll float!  Don’t kick so; I’m going to hold you up till the boys come.  It’s all right, Puss; you’re safe!”

All the same Frank was mighty well pleased when the launch did swing close alongside and half a dozen hands reached out to clutch hold of them both.

“Puss first, fellows!” he said, with a half laugh.  “I can crawl in myself, I guess.”  But they would not hear of it, so willing hands lifted him up as soon as the other dripping figure had been deposited in the bottom of the boat.

Frank made light of the adventure, after his usual style.

“Oh, come, let up on that!” he remarked, when some of the fellows were patting him on the back and calling him a hero and all such things that were particularly disagreeable to Frank.  “It was just a cinch to me, you know.  I’m half a water spaniel, anyway.  Besides, if it hadn’t been for the way I riled him, Puss wouldn’t have fallen overboard.  Drop it, please.”

By the time the boat reached the landing near the dock where the lake steamer touched, Puss seemed to have discharged his cargo of water, swallowed unintentionally.

He made his appearance, with several cronies clustered about him.  Frank was not the one to hold a grudge.  Besides, he had come out of the affair with flying colors and had nothing to regret.  So he strode up to Puss at once, holding out his hand.

Every boy on board crowded around, eager to see how the bully would behave, for they knew his natural disposition and wondered whether any sort of miracle had been wrought in his disposition because of his recent submersion.