Still the pursuers continued. Fernald seemed inclined to give up, but Cole would not quit. Foot by foot the canoe in the rear drew nearer to the one in advance. The distance that separated them was cut down swiftly, and Brad muttered: “We’ll be on top of them in less than two minutes.” Not more than ten feet lay between the canoes when Buckhart, giving an unusually heavy surge at the paddle, met with an accident. The handle of the paddle snapped short off. The Texan uttered an exclamation of dismay. Glancing back, Cole saw what had happened, and again urged Fernald to exert himself. “Now wouldn’t that bump you some!” exclaimed Brad. “In four seconds more I could have placed my hand on his neck.” Dick had not ceased paddling. Instead of that, he seemed to put more force into his strokes, if such a thing were possible. Although both Fernald and Cole pulled away as hard as they could, the distance between the boats increased with astonishing slowness. Plainly Merriwell was nearly equal to the task of keeping up alone. Suddenly an idea occurred to Buckhart. He turned his body and reached backward for the coil of rope behind him. “Keep it up, partner!” he palpitated. “Just hold her as she is a minute.” Then the Texan made a running noose in one end of the rope. He did this with the skill acquired from cowboy instructors on his father’s ranch. Having accomplished his object, the Texan ran off some of the rope into loops, which he held in his left hand. “She may not work, Dick,” he said. “All the same, we’ll give her a try.” Then, as he knelt in the canoe, he swung the loop of the rope once or twice round his head and sent it writhing through the air. The cast was made with all the cleverness of a Mexican lariat thrower. The noose fell over Cole’s head and shoulders, and Buckhart quickly drew it taut, pinning Jack’s arms to his sides. Had Cole been aware of Brad’s purpose, he might have flung the noose off by quickly lifting his arms. Not being aware of it, he was taken by surprise and found himself unable to ply the paddle. Not only that, but the forward motion of his canoe was checked and a steady pull by the Texan drew the other canoe nearer. In his excitement Cole made an effort to cast aside the noose. In doing this he partly rose to his feet, and a moment later the canoe shot out from beneath him, sending him with a loud splash into the water. It happened at that very moment that Buckhart had relaxed his grip on the rope slightly as he moved forward toward the prow of the canoe, with the intention of grasping the one in advance. As Cole went down, the rope was snapped from Buckhart’s fingers. Although Cole had thus been projected into the lake, the canoe from which he plunged did not upset. It seemed to dart from beneath him.