sensible fashion."

But Nat had worked himself up into a towering rage, and refused to be conciliated.

"You'll wish you had let me join," he shouted. "I never swallowed all those insults you gave me without making up my mind to pay the crowd back. And I'll remember you, too, old Zeke Tipson. Get out of here."

Had Nat looked at the "Major" he might have seen that his sharp eyes were glaring in a most peculiar fashion. The two had had several encounters, and whenever Zeke calculated the amount of damage resulting therefrom, it made him very angry indeed.

"Get out of here yourself," he cried. "I won't stand any impudence, mind you—go on, now."

Accompanying these words, he made several movements with his stick, which brought it dangerously close to Nat's ankles.

"Hold on!" protested Bob Somers. "We don't want any trouble here."

"No, no!" chimed in Brandon.

But Nat, thoroughly enraged, sprang forward with fist upraised. "I'll teach you some manners, you miserable beggar!" he shouted, with flashing eyes.

Zeke parried the blow. Then the angry man jumped forward while Nat, well aware of the fact that he was no match for him, leaped aside.

The Ramblers were about to rush between them to prevent further hostilities, when Nat himself saved them that trouble.

In his eagerness to escape, he had not taken sufficient heed of his surroundings. His spring away from Zeke landed him on the very brink of the river, where the bank was steep and slippery. His feet flew from under him, and as he began sliding down the declivity, he grasped frantically at the top of the bank. His fingers touched it, but he succeeded only in tearing out a handful of grass. "Grab me, somebody; I'm falling in!" he shouted wildly.

But it had happened so quickly that the Ramblers were powerless to render any assistance. The unfortunate Nat shot downward at an estimated speed of not less than ten feet per second and struck the water with a tremendous splash. The spray dashed in all directions, and over the placid surface wide circles moved one after another in undulating lines.

"My goodness, he has disappeared completely," exclaimed Bob.

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