o come with us this morning!"

At last, after wasting some precious minutes thus waiting, he began
undressing very slowly, instead of in the usual brisk manner in which he
was in the habit of peeling off his clothes, running a race with Dick to
see who would get into the water first.

Then, at length, he plunged in to take his swim in a very half-hearted
fashion, going in reluctantly and coming out in the same undecided way;
while, to make matters worse and further protract his loitering, just as
he was beginning to dress again, a nasty spiteful bloodhound, which was
prowling by the shore, made a most unprovoked attack on Rover,
necessitating his going to his rescue with a big stone--Master Bob
hopping up to the scene of action "with one shoe off and one shoe on,"
like the celebrated "John" the hero of the nursery rhyme!

Rover was not quite a match for the brute that assailed him; but with
Bob's help, not omitting the big stone, the two "routed the enemy with
great slaughter," the bloodhound fleeing away ignominiously with his
tail between his legs, and Rover raising a paean of victory in the shape
of a defiant bark as he retreated.

Still, the episode consumed a few more minutes of valuable time; so when
Bob had hopped back again to where he had left his clothes to complete
his toilet, and then raced down to the pier, it was not only past the
hour fixed for the Southampton steamer to start, but she was already
well on her way.

In fact, she was just then rounding Gillkicker Point, which juts out
from Stokes Bay, bearing away on board her, his father and mother and
Nell, besides the Captain and Mrs Gilmour; and not only that, leaving
him behind!

Bob did not know how to contain himself.

He was too manly to cry; although he felt a big lump in his throat which
made him take several short swallows without gulping anything down;
while, strangely enough, something seemed to get in his eyes, for a
moment preventing him from seeing anything seaward but assort of hazy
mist as he stood listlessly by the head of the pier, trying vainly to
discern the excursion-boat, now fast disappearing in the distance!

Presently, however, after remaining there awhile, staring at nothing,
the Captain's favourite maxim occurred to his mind-- "What's done can't
be helped"; and coming to the conclusion that there was no use in his
stopping on the pier any longer, since the steamer had left, and there
was no possibility of his being able