lled on board. As soon as the ropes were unfastened, John rose to
his feet; but Mary lay, insensible, on the deck.

"Carry the damsel into the cabin," a man, who was evidently in
authority said. "She has fainted, but will soon come round. I will
see to her, myself."

The suddenness of the rescue, the plunge in the water, and the
sudden revulsion of his feelings affected John so much that it was
two or three minutes before he could speak.

"Come along with me, lad," one of the sailors said, laying his hand
on his shoulder. "Some dry clothes, and a draught of wine will set
you all right again; but you have had a narrow escape of it. That
boat of yours was pretty nearly water logged and, in another five
minutes, we should have been too late."

John hastily changed his clothes in the forecastle, took a draught
of wine, and then hurried back again towards the aft cabin. Just as
he reached it, the man who had ordered Mary to be carried in came
out.

"The damsel has opened her eyes," he said, "and you need not be
uneasy about her. I have given her some woolen cloths, and bade her
take off her wet garments, and wrap herself in them.

"Why did you not make for the shore, before the tempest broke? It
was foolish of you, indeed, to be out on the lake, when anyone
could see that this gale was coming."

"I was rowing down, and did not notice it until I turned," John
replied. "I was making for the shore, when the gale struck her."

"It was well, for you, that I noticed you. I was, myself, thinking
of making for the shore although, in so large and well-manned craft
as this, there is little fear upon the lake. It is not like the
Great Sea; where I, myself, have seen a large ship as helpless,
before the waves, as that small boat we picked you from.

"I had just set out from Tiberias, when I marked the storm coming
up; but my business was urgent and, moreover, I marked your little
boat, and saw that you were not likely to gain the shore; so I bade
the helmsman keep his eye on you, until the darkness fell upon us;
and then to follow straight in your wake, for you could but run
before the wind--and well he did it for, when we first caught sight
of you, you were right ahead of us."

The speaker was a man of about thirty years of age; tall, and with
a certain air of command.

"I thank you, indeed, sir," John said, "for saving my life; and
that of my cousin Mary, the daughter of my father's brother. Truly,
my father and mother