gain.

"That talk made the greatest difference. After it was all over, I gave
them some water. They were different even then. They looked at me--and
they didn't shrink or shudder. When I handed Julia the cup, she made
herself smile. God, you never saw such a smile. I nearly--" he paused,
"I all but went back to the cabin and cut my throat. But the fight's
over. They'll get well. They're sleeping like children now."

"Thank God!" Merrill groaned. "Oh, thank God!"

"I've felt like a murderer ever since----" Billy said. He stopped and
his voice leaped with a sudden querulousness. "You didn't wake me up;
you've done double guard duty during the night, Ralph."

"Oh, that's all right. You were all in--I felt that--" Ralph stammered
in a shamefaced fashion. "And I knew I could stand it."

"There's a long sleep coming to you, Ralph," Pete said. "You've hardly
closed your eyes this week. No question but you've saved their lives."

B.

Mid-morning on Angel Island.

The sun had mounted half-way to the zenith; sky and sea and land
glittered with its luster. Like war-horses, the waves came ramping over
the smooth, shimmering sand; war-horses with bodies of jade and manes of
silver.

Pete floated inshore on a huge comber, ran up the beach a little way and
sat down. Billy followed.

"I've come out just to get the picture," Pete explained.

"Same here," said Billy.

For an instant, both men contemplated the scene with the narrowed,
critical gaze of the artist.

The flying-girls were swimming; and swimming with the same grace and
strength with which formerly they flew. And as if inevitably they must
take on the quality of the element in which they mixed, they looked like
mermaids now, just as formerly they had looked like birds. They carried
heads and shoulders high out of the water. Webs of sea-spume glittered
on the shining hair and on the white flesh. One behind the other, they
swam in rhythmic unison. Regularly the long, round, strong-looking right
arms reached out of the water, bowed forward, clutched at the wave,
and pulled them on. Simultaneously, the left arms reached back, pushed
against the wave, and shot them forward. Their feet beat the water to a
lather.

They were headed down the beach, hugging the shore. Swim as hard as they
could, Honey and Frank managed but to keep up with them. Ralph overtook
them only in their brief resting-periods. Further inshore, carried
ceaselessly a little forward and then a