"It's awful!" gasped Jim Crestwick behind Nasmyth. "It's not the risk of drowning; they'll be smashed to bits! Anyway, we'd better make for the slack at the tail." Nasmyth got up. He could see nothing of Gladwyne or either of the others; there were only black rocks, rushing water and outbreaks of foam, and he had a sickening idea that long before they reached the quieter pool the need for any services he could render would be past. Fortunately, the beach was fairly smooth, and after a desperate run they reached a tongue of rock beneath which the eddy swung. Farther on, in the shadow, Batley stood in the water, calling to them and apparently clinging hard to a half-seen object in the stream. Nasmyth leaped in knee-deep, with Crestwick behind him, and gripping the loosely-hanging arm of the body Batley was supporting, he asked hoarsely: "Who is it?" "Lisle!" was the breathless answer. "Help me to get him out!" They dragged him up the beach and let him sink down. He lay upon the shingle, silent and inert. "Make a fire, Jim!" commanded Batley. "Lift his shoulder a bit, Nasmyth! Turn him partly over!" He hurriedly examined Lisle and then looked up. "It's not a case of drowning; and his limbs look sound. Must have got the breath knocked out of him against a boulder." He pointed to a broad red gash on Lisle's forehead as Nasmyth eased him down again. "That explains his unconsciousness." "Where's Gladwyne?" Nasmyth asked. Batley made an expressive gesture. "Beyond our help, anyway; somewhere down-river." He appeared to brace himself with an effort. "I'm pretty nearly finished, but there's a good deal to be done. We'll strip Lisle, and you and Crestwick can share your dry things with him. Then one of you had better gather cedar twigs for him to lie on." CHAPTER XXXI LISLE GOES TO ENGLAND Lisle had with some difficulty been dressed in dry clothes, and he lay with his eyes shut on a couch of cedar sprays beside a fire, when Batley rose and turned to Nasmyth. "I don't think we need be anxious," he said. "The warmth is coming back to him and he's breathing regularly. The knock on the head must have been a bad one, and it's very likely that he got another thump or two washing down the rapid, and the water was icy cold; but he'll feel better after a few hours' sleep." Nasmyth was inclined to agree with this prediction and he stood up wearily. "Then you won't want me for a little while," he replied, walking away from the fire. Having given most of his clothes to Lisle, he was very lightly clad and the night was cold. He shivered as he plodded over the shingle, aching in every limb, but he looked about eagerly and after a while he found the cache. It was uncovered, but there were signs that Gladwyne had only begun his task when he had been surprised by the arrival of the party which had followed him.