It was not altogether easy to walk on the trembling wet piping, but those who did it were of course in bathing attire, and with bare feet it was not so hard, once one got the hang of it. The sight of this merry procession proceeding on its endless round proved too much for one pair of eyes that watched wistfully from the shore. One after another the dripping scouts came scrambling up out of the water, proceeded to the shore end of the pipeline, walked cautiously along it, feet sideways, crossed the dredge, dived and presently appeared again. "_Follow your leader_" they were singing and it was funny to hear how they picked up the tune and got into time upon emerging. This kind of thing was hard to resist. It is hard not to dance when the music is playing. There was an alluring fascination about it. Suddenly, to the consternation of every one, there was Goliath in the procession, moving along the pipeline, keeping his foothold by frantic gesticulations with his arms. He was laughing all over his little face. He swayed, he bent, he almost fell, he got his balance, almost lost it, got along a few steps, and then down he went with a splash into the water. This climax of his wild enterprise occurred in a gap of the procession. Some scouts had fallen out, others were clambering out the other side of the dredge. So it happened that the splash was the first thing to attract attention. Goliath did not reappear and before any one had a chance to dive or knew just where to dive, something was apparent, which sent a shudder through Tom Slade, who was standing near the end of the pipeline. The pouring forth of the wet sand out of the pipe ceased, or rather lessened and the substance shot out in little jerks. Tom, ever quick to see the significance of a thing, knew this for what it was. It was an awful message from the bottom of the lake. Something was clogging up the suction pipe there. CHAPTER XXXV THE HERO This thing, as I said, all happened in a flash. There was shouting, there was running about.... "Stop the machinery!" some one yelled. "Reverse your engine!" Tom felt himself thrust aside, lost his balance and fell into the deposit of wet sand. The pouring out of this had ceased. "_Don't let him do that! He's crazy!_" some one shrieked. "Reverse the engine; he'll come up. Don't dive--you! You'll be chewed to pieces." "Who dived?" said Tom, scrambling to his feet. "The body will come up when the suction stops." "Both bodies, you mean; that crazy fool dived." "They won't come up if they're wedged in. Keep her going--reversed." Everybody crowded to the shore and to the deck of the dredge. The pulsating of the big line had ceased. Men shouted to do this, to do that. Others contradicted. All eyes were upon the water. They crowded each other, watching, waiting.... Then a red spot appeared on the surface. It spread and grew lighter in color as it mingled with the water. The watchers held their breath--gasped. The tension was terrible.