ad a note from Beryl to say you re to go back at once.
Jump up, now."

The little one laughed, showing a row of white teeth, and shook her
pretty head.

"No fear," she replied. "Keep that yarn for next time, Brian." Then,
catching sight of me, she started and stared, reduced to silence. The
while I was conscious of being introduced to Miss Somebody or other,
whose name I couldn't for the life of me catch, and, judging from the
stiff awkwardness wherewith she acknowledged the introduction, I was
sure she could not catch mine. Then, in answer to some vehement
signalling on the part of the child, Brian got down and went a little
way with her apart, where the two seemed immersed in animated
conversation, leaving me to inform the awkward girl that it was a fine
morning and likely to continue hot, and to indulge in similar
banalities.

Brian reascended to his seat, and relieved me of the reins. I, the
while, faithful to my plighted word, showed no sign of ever having seen
the child before, seeming indeed to see a certain reminder of the same
in her sparkling pretty little face as she half-shyly affected to make
my acquaintance. Brian kissed her tenderly, and we drove on. But
before we had had gone far he turned on me suddenly.

"Holt, I don't know how to thank you, or what to say. I've just heard
from Iris what you did yesterday. Man, you saved her life--her _life_,
do you hear?--and what that means to me--to us--why, blazes take it,
you've seen her!--I don't know how I can convey the idea better."

He was all afire with agitation--indeed, to such an extent as to
astonish me, for I had set him down as rather a cool customer, and not
easily perturbed. Now he continued to wax eloquent, and it made me
uncomfortable. So I endeavoured to cut him short.

"All right, old chap. It isn't worth jawing about. Only too glad I was
on hand at the time. Besides, nothing at all to a fellow who can swim.
I say, though, I was admiring the way the little girl was at home in the
water; still, she's small, and those beastly breakers have a devil of an
undertow, you know. She oughtn't to be allowed out like that with
nobody to look after her."

"That's just it. But she bound me to secrecy, like she did you, for
fear of not being allowed in again. I made her promise not to do it
again though, as a condition of keeping dark."

And then he went on to expatiate on Miss Iris' swimming perfections, and
indeed every other perfe