For just a second he paused to look behind . The hounds were almost at his heels . Lightfoot hesitated no longer but plunged into the Big River and began to swim . On the banks the hounds stopped and bayed their disappointment , for they did not dare follow Lightfoot out into the Big River . CHAPTER XXII : Lightfoot 's Long Swim The Big River was very wide . It would have been a long swim for Lightfoot had he been fresh and at his best . Strange as it may seem , Lightfoot is a splendid swimmer , despite his small , delicate feet . He enjoys swimming . But now Lightfoot was terribly tired from his long run ahead of the hounds . For a time he swam rapidly , but those weary muscles grew still more weary , and by the time he reached the middle of the Big River it seemed to him that he was not getting ahead at all . At first he had tried to swim towards a clump of trees he could see on the opposite bank above the point where he had entered the water , but to do this he had to swim against the current and he soon found that he had n't the strength to do this . Then he turned and headed for a point down the Big River . This made the swimming easier , for the current helped him instead of hindering him . Even then he could feel his strength leaving him . Had he escaped those hounds and the terrible hunters only to be drowned in the Big River ? This new fear gave him more strength for a little while . But it did not last long . He was three fourths of the way across the Big River but still that other shore seemed a long distance away . Little by little hope died in the heart of Lightfoot the Deer . He would keep on just as long as he could and then , -- well , it was better to drown than to be torn to pieces by dogs .
Just as XXXXX felt that he could not take another stroke and that the end was at hand , one foot touched something .
Lightfoot River XXII drowned feet first fourths second strength swimmer