“The water’s great to-day!” shouted Dick, rising and “blowing” after a shallow dive from a tree trunk at the shore.

In a moment they were all in the water.

“Come on!  Follow your leader!” shouted Tom Reade, striking out lustily upstream.

“Come back and give us a handicap!” roared Dave.  “How do you expect us to catch you when you get the lead over us with your long legs and arms?”

But Tom dived under water, swimming there.  The others followed suit, each remaining under as long as possible, for, in this “stunt,” there was no way of knowing when the leader came up.  Tom remained under less than fifteen seconds.  Then, showing his head, and with rapid overhand strokes he made for the nearer bank, slipping ashore and hiding behind some bushes.

It was Hazy who had to come up first after Tom.

“Whew!  Tom must have met someone he knows on the bottom,” called Harry, as Greg’s head rose above the surface.

Dave came up next, then Dick, and then Dan.

“Tom ought to be a fish!” uttered Darrin admiringly.  “I stayed under water as long as I could.”

Yet after going a few yards further up stream Dick Prescott turned, gazing anxiously down stream.

“Fellows,” he suggested, “something must have happened to old Tom.”

“Or else he’s playing a joke on us,” hinted Danny Grin, suspiciously.

“It’s some joke to remain under water four times as long as the average swimmer can do it,” retorted Prescott.

“But Tom may not be under water,” spoke up Greg.

“He didn’t have time to get anywhere else,” Dave declared.

“It may be a joke, but I don’t want to take any chances,” Dick said earnestly.  “Let’s go down stream.  Spread out, and every now and then bob under and take as near a look at the bottom as you can.”

“It doesn’t look right,” Dave admitted as they all started back.

Several times they went under water, the best swimmers among them getting close to bottom.  So they continued on down the stream for some distance.

“Now, all together.  Go under water all at the same time,” ordered Dick.

Below the surface of the river they went.  One after another their heads presently appeared above the surface once more.

“Have you fellows lost anything?” quizzed Reade, suddenly appearing on the bank.

“That’s what I call a mean trick on us!” cried Dave, flushing slightly.

“You fellows were in for a swim, weren’t you?” Reade drawled.  “You have been having it.”

With that he took to the water himself.  There was something so jovial and harmless about Reade that, despite their recent anxiety concerning him, they made no effort to duck him.

“The water is fine this morning,” called Tom presently, as they all swam about.

“Then why didn’t you stay in?” demanded Darry rather cuttingly.