to the landing."

While Betty was speaking the stranger's face had softened wonderfully,
and he looked at Jack with an expression of increased interest. Without
a word he stepped to the side of his own boat, and, leaning over, lifted
the little boy in his arms.

"Now I fancy we can manage it, my little man," he said kindly, and in
another moment he had lifted Jack up to one of the men on the yacht, who
in turn had placed the child in safety on the deck. The little girls
were then carefully helped up the ladder, and in less than three minutes
the whole party was standing, safe and dry, on the deck of what they
afterwards learned to be one of the finest steam yachts in the world.

"And now I shall have to take you all as far as the steamboat landing,"
said the stranger, as he placed Jack comfortably in a steamer chair. "It
will not take more than half an hour, and from there we can easily send
word to your friends. Where do you live, by the way?"

"We live at Navesink," said Lulu, suddenly recovering her speech and her
manners now that the danger was over, and remembering all at once that
she had always been considered a very polite little girl. "My papa has a
cottage there, and the others all came over to spend the afternoon with
me. It was my fault about the boat, but I thought it was safe. I think
we must have made it rock too much when we were playing shipwreck."

"Very possibly," said the gentleman, who looked considerably amused by
this explanation. "It is never a very wise plan to make boats rock too
much. But now let me see"--glancing at his watch--"it is only a little
after five, and we shall be at the landing by half-past. Do you think
your friends will be very much frightened about you?"

"I don't think so," said Lulu. "My mother has gone to the city for the
day; Winifred's mother is out driving, and Betty and Jack say their
mother told them they needn't come home before six. My papa has a
telephone, and we can let them know as soon as we get to the landing."

"Not at all a bad idea, and in the meantime won't you make yourselves at
home on board my yacht? By the way, I think shipwrecked people are apt
to be hungry."

"We are not very hungry, thank you," said Lulu politely; "you see, we
didn't start until half-past three."

The stranger smiled again, and said something in a low tone to the
steward, who immediately disappeared.

"We've none of us ever been on a yacht before," said Lulu, feeling that
it