Читать книгу Camping in the Winter Woods: Adventures of Two Boys in the Maine Woods онлайн

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Ed gave a startled cry when he saw his friend disappear from sight beneath the surface, and poor Ben groaned audibly. In breathless silence they watched for what seemed an eternity for the buck and its rider to reappear.

When the deer plunged under the water George instinctively held his breath and shut his eyes, as he was accustomed to do when ducked in the school swimming-tank by mischievous school-mates. He went much deeper this time, however, and the water went up his nostrils and roared in his ears. He gripped the frenzied animal beneath him more tightly. He could hear it gasping and choking down there under the water, and it seemed as though he, too, must soon open his mouth and free his bursting lungs. He could hold his breath but a moment longer. Then, just as he gave an involuntary gasp for air, his head shot above the water, and, coughing and snorting, the buck once more swam rapidly toward the land.

Ed and Ben, who had reached shallow water, yelled with delight when they saw their comrade reappear far out on the lake. George was too full of water to reply to their shouts and cheers. It was all he could do to keep his hold on that slippery wet back.