sion of something that one of them had clutched tightly in his
hand. Vaguely they could see it, dangling about, as the contest went on.
And each, in her secret heart, knew it to be the burlap bag--and its
contents!

"Eileen!" cried Phyllis, turning sharply upon the other girl, "is one of
those two--my brother Ted? Answer me--truthfully."

"Yes--oh, yes!" panted Eileen.

"And is he in--danger?" persisted Phyllis.

"Oh--I'm afraid so!"

"Then I'm going out to help him!" declared Phyllis, courageously. "Come,
Leslie--and bring Rags!"

Leslie never afterward knew how it happened--that she, a naturally timid
person, should have walked out of that house, unhesitatingly and
unquestioningly, to do battle with some unknown enemy in the storm and
the dark. If she had had any time to think about it, she might have
faltered. But Phyllis gave her no time. With Rags at their heels, they
snatched up some wraps and all suddenly burst out of the front door onto
the veranda, Phyllis having stopped only long enough to take up her
electric torch from the living-room table. She switched this on in the
darkness, and, guided by its light, they plunged into the storm.

The force of the wind almost took their breath away. And as they plowed
along, Leslie was horrified to notice that the tide had crept almost up
to the level of the old log and was within sixty feet of the bungalow.
"Oh, what _shall_ we do if it comes much higher!" she moaned to herself.
But from that moment on, she had little time for such considerations.

Phyllis had plunged ahead with the light, and the two other girls
followed her in the shadow. Leslie was somewhat hampered in her advance,
as she was holding Rags by his collar and he strongly objected to the
restraint. But she dared not let him loose just then.

Suddenly they were plunged in utter darkness. Phyllis's torch had given
out! And the two others, reaching her side at that instant, heard her
gasp, "Oh, dreadful! Can anything be the matter with this battery?" But
after a moment's manipulation the light flashed on again. It was in this
instant that they saw the face of Ted, lying on the ground and staring up
at them while his assailant held him firmly pinned beneath him in an iron
grip.

"Help!" shrieked Ted, above the roar of the wind. "Let Rags loose!"

They needed no other signal. Leslie released her hold on the impatient
animal, and with a snarl that was almost unnerving, he darted, straight
as an arr