ew hundred yards; but
the water all the way was deep, and the waves, in consequence, were
large and wild. There were great possibilities within the brief space
of distance and time that lay before them!

"Tak an oar, Maister Quin, an' help Rodereek to fend off," cried the
boatman. "Hold ticht to the sheet, sir, an' pe ready to let co the
moment I tell ye. Are ye ready wi' the halyards, Muster Airchie?"

"All right, Ian," replied the boy, who stood ready to lower the sail.

They could see that several men were standing on the beach, ready to
render assistance, among them Duncan, the butler, and Ivor, the
gamekeeper. The latter, who had evidently recovered himself, was
standing waist-deep in the foam, as if anxious to grasp the boat when it
grounded.

"Ivor is unusually keen to help us to-day," remarked the laird, with a
peculiar look; but no one was sufficiently disengaged to listen to or
answer him.

At that critical moment Junkie took it into his unaccountable head to
scramble to the fore part of the boat, in order, as he said, to lend a
hand with a rope. On reaching the bow he stumbled; the boat plunged
heavily, as if to accommodate him, and he went overboard with a suddenly
checked yell, that rose high and sharp above the roaring gale!

Of course every man near him sprang to the side and made a wild grasp at
him. The gunwale went down, the sea rushed in, and, in a space of time
brief as the lightning-flash, all the occupants of the boat were
struggling in the waves!

A great cry arose from the shore, and Ivor, plunging into the surf, was
seen to breast the billows with the force of a Hercules. In the moment
of upsetting, John Barret's cowardice and scruples vanished. He seized
Milly by the arm, and held her up when they rose from the plunge.

And now, for the first time in his life, our hero found the advantage of
having trained himself, not only in all manly exercises, but in the
noble art of rescuing life from the water. Instead of rising to the
wild discovery of helpless ignorance, as to what was the best way of
using his great strength, he rose with the comfortable knowledge, first,
that he was a powerful swimmer, and second, that he knew exactly what to
do--at least to attempt. Instead, therefore, of allowing himself to be
hugged, and probably drowned, by the girl he loved, he held her off at
arm's length until he managed to grasp her by both arms close to the
shoulders, and with her back towa