"I thought I heard a yell for help," was the reply. "Listen!" All did so, and presently above the rushing of the wind heard a man's voice. Then came a shrill scream as if from a younger person. "Somebody is in trouble!" cried Fred. "Listen! He is calling again!" All strained their ears, and once more heard the yells of the man borne along by the rushing wind. Then came that other shrill cry, as if for assistance. "They are in trouble, all right!" "Where are they?" "That cry came from up the river. Whoever they are, they must be right around the Bend." "Come on! Let's see what it means." With these and other exclamations the four Rover boys left the shelter of the overhanging rocks and crawled along a stony pathway leading up the watercourse. Soon they passed around the Bend, and then came within sight of a scene which almost appalled them. A mass of wreckage consisting of a small tree and a quantity of newly cut timber had come down the stream and become caught among the jagged rocks above the Bend, and in the midst of this wreckage, with the water rushing and foaming all around them, were a man and a boy, struggling wildly to save themselves from drowning! CHAPTER II WHO THE ROVER BOYS WERE "Look there, will you!" "That man and boy will surely be drowned!" "Why don't they swim ashore?" "Most likely the stream is running too swiftly for them." "Help! Help!" came hoarsely from the man. Evidently his exertions were beginning to exhaust him. "Save me! Save me!" screamed the boy, who seemed to be about Jack's age. "Save me! Don't let me drown!" The two unfortunate victims had caught sight of the cadets, who had by this time come as close to them as the rocks on the bank permitted. The man waved his arm frantically toward them. "Can't you swim?" yelled Jack, to make himself heard above the wind and the rushing of the water. "I'm caught fast!" the man gasped out. "And my son is caught fast too." "Both of my feet are fast!" screamed the boy. "Oh, please help us! Don't leave us here to be drowned!" "It's a couple of logs of wood that are holding us," went on the man in a hoarser tone than ever. "They are jammed in between us and some rocks and a floating tree. If you can only start the tree, maybe we can get out of here." Both the man and the boy were in the rushing water up to their armpits, and occasionally the dashing element would fly over them in a spray that hid them completely from view. "Oh, boys, this is awful!" groaned Fred. "Can't we do something for them?" "We've got to do something," answered Jack. "We can't leave them there to drown." "But what are we going to do?" demanded Andy soberly. "He said something about loosening the tree that has drifted up alongside them," came from Randy. "Do you think we can do it, Jack?" "I don't know. But we can have a try at it, anyway. And if we can't push the tree, maybe we can get at the logs that are holding them down."