ft will hold out?"

"I don't think so," I replied, "but we're quite near the water's edge
now--perhaps I could swim ashore with you."

"Good gracious! I can swim twice that distance myself, thank you. Why, I
beat Mullings Major hollow in the swimming competition last term, and
he's four years older than me, and--"

Whatever Lionel was going to add was lost, for at that instant he had to
put his boasted prowess to the test. The box, having filled with water
just as I had feared it would do, sank slowly down, and we were left in
the water.

Fortunately Lionel's boast was not a vain one, and he reached the shore
before I did, laughing and wringing the water out of his clothes.

"Well, it's good to be on dry land once more at any rate," he said, as
I waded ashore, "isn't it?"

"Yes," I agreed, looking about to see if I could discover any traces of
Shin Shira in the dusk.

"There he is!" at last cried Lionel, "but his head has vanished, and
there are only his legs and arms waving about. _They_ won't be much use
to us, and--by Jove! yes! Look, here comes that wretched old duck after
us. We'll have to cut," and he gathered up his things and set the
example.

It was quite true; the old duck had evidently come to the conclusion
that we were something dainty to eat--in the frog line probably--and was
waddling towards us as quickly as her game leg would allow.

Fortunately we were soon able to out-distance her; and having fixed our
latitude by Kensington Palace, which we could just see in the distance,
we set out for the gate.

To our tiny, but rapidly growing bodies the distance seemed an
interminable one, especially as darkness was now quickly falling. We
could see the lights in Kensington, but they seemed far, far away; and
to add to our dismay, when at last, tired and exhausted, we did reach
the gate, it was only to find it closed for the night, and that during
our journey from the Pond we had grown too big to be able to squeeze
through the railings.

We waited a few minutes uncertain what to do, till presently a cab came
in sight, the horse walking leisurely and the cabby evidently on the
look-out for a fare.

"Cabby! cabby!" I called, and Lionel added his shrill voice to mine.

The cabman looked about in bewilderment.

"Here, by the Park gates!" I yelled, and he got down from his seat and
came over to where we were standing.

"Well, I'm blowed!" he exclaimed when he had had a good look at us.
"What the Di