Will had declared his intention of going down the shore and taking up his position about midway of the drop, so as to snap off the two descending bullboats as they came flying along in the midst of the churning water.  Afterward he and Mr. Mabie would enter the last boat and make the plunge.

When he was ready, with his camera focused, he waved his arm as a signal.  Immediately one of the boats started forth, containing Bluff and Reddy.  When they got fully into the swirl the second craft appeared in sight.

Jerry sat in the bow of this, and Frank in the stern, the more responsible position.  Immediately the two adventurous cruisers were in the rapids, and shooting down with incredible swiftness.

The leading boat managed to pull through all right, for Reddy knew the route; but disaster awaited that containing the two chums.  Whether they struck a half-submerged rock, and were capsized, or made a miscalculation, and found themselves seized by the cross-current, no one ever knew.

“Look out!” shouted Jerry, and the next instant both he and Frank were overboard, and trying to keep away from the threatening snags while they went whirling down the rapids.

CHAPTER XVI

THE NEW CAMP

“Well, how did you like it, Jerry?”

“Talk to me about your shooting the whirlpool at Niagara in a barrel!  That was bad enough for me!  I swallowed enough water to float a ship!  And here we are yet, each perched on a measly old slippery rock, in the middle of the rapids.  Say! tell me about that, will you, Frank?  How are we going to get ashore?”

The situation was comical as well as tragical.  Just as Jerry said, each of the late inmates of the overturned bullboat, after being buffeted about furiously for several minutes, had succeeded in wildly scrambling on to an exposed rock.

There in midstream they sat, dripping wet, and with the foaming water surrounding them on all sides.  In spite of his recent scare, Frank could not help laughing.

“What ails you?  Perhaps you think I look funny?” exclaimed Jerry, who had received a few bruises, and was not feeling quite as cheerful as usual.

“Well, if you could only see yourself just now, you couldn’t help laughing.  Do you know you just put me in mind of that little god of good luck, Billikin!” called Frank, and in spite of his soreness Jerry had to grin in sympathy.

“Well, all right, then; there are two of us, and I guess you look as silly as I do.  But there’s that fellow, Will, getting his work in, as usual.  A nice pair of geese we’ll look like in his book of martyrs.”

“Oh, that doesn’t bother me one little bit just now.  All I’m thinking about is how under the sun we’re going to get out of this pickle,” said Frank, sweeping his hand around, as if to call attention to the angry water that leaped and boiled in a frenzy of eagerness to get at its expected victims.