It is possible that the man who held the bag around Adam’s neck thought that he had, by his own skill, put himself above the sailor. At any rate, he raised his head, and said to his companion,-- “I can hold him here, and you run down and whang that long-legs. He hasn’t heard us, and you can slip up behind him. Be quick, now!” The other fellow then left, and, being barefooted, he moved silently down toward Chap. As soon as there had been time for him to get a little distance away, Adam, who had been lying on the ground, as if thoroughly exhausted by his brief struggle, suddenly revived, and, giving himself a vigorous twist, turned the other fellow under him, and grasping him by the throat, tore the bag off his own head with a jerk. Then Adam, giving a great shout, which echoed through the woods, proceeded to pound the miscreant under him as if he desired to punish him not only for the crimes he had done, but for those he intended to commit. Chap, who was busily examining a curious little sulphur spring, which was bubbling up near the edge of the lake, lifting the wet sand as if some living creature was buried beneath and trying to get out, raised himself up when he heard Adam shout, and turned around just in time to see the boat-thief close upon him with his club in the air. Chap was not as strong a boy as Phœnix, but he was long-limbed, and very excitable, and his fiery energy gave him much advantage for a brief struggle. Without the slightest hesitation he made a dash at the man with the club, and springing to one side as the blow fell, he threw his long arms around the fellow’s waist. The club, of course, was of no use in such a close encounter, and dropping it, the man made a grasp with one hand at Chap’s neck and throat. But Chap, as Phil had often said, was a fellow full of hinges, and jerking himself back to avoid this clutch, he did so with such suddenness that the man he held was pulled violently forward, while one of Chap’s feet went down into the soft, bubbling sand he had been watching. Thus, losing his footing, Chap went over backward, and the man with him, and both were instantly rolling in the water and soft sand. Chap was almost choked by the sand and water, but, throwing himself around like a wild cuttlefish, he managed to get upon his knees and raise his head and body out of the water, which was not more than a foot deep, although he seemed to be sinking at least that far into the soft sand. The man, who had loosened himself from Chap’s grasp, was near him, and struggling to rise, his dripping face full of rage and astonishment. But Chap gave him no opportunity to do this. Throwing himself upon him he pushed the fellow backward till his head went down again under the water, but, not wishing to drown him, he jerked his head up again, and sitting astride of him began to harangue him. The man was half lying down, with the water up to his chin, and vainly endeavoring to raise himself by his arms.