fty people, and the tale ran that the second lifeboat
had successfully accomplished its mission and was approaching the pier.

"I shall write an account of this for the _Signal_," said Denry,
whose thoughts were excusably on the Press.

"Oh, do!" exclaimed Nellie.

"They have the _Signal_ at all the newspaper shops here," said
Ruth.

Then they seemed to be merged in the storm. The pier shook and trembled
under the shock of the waves, and occasionally, though the tide was very
low, a sprinkle of water flew up and caught their faces. The eyes could
see nothing save the passing glitter of the foam on the crest of a
breaker. It was the most thrilling situation that any of them had ever
been in.

And at last came word from the mouths of men who could apparently see as
well in the dark as in daylight, that the second lifeboat was close to
the pier. And then everybody momentarily saw it--a ghostly thing that
heaved up pale out of the murk for an instant, and was lost again. And
the little crowd cheered.

The next moment a Bengal light illuminated the pier, and the lifeboat
was silhouetted with strange effectiveness against the storm. And some
one flung a rope, and then another rope arrived out of the sea, and fell
on Denry's shoulder.

"Haul on there!" yelled a hoarse voice. The Bengal light expired.

Denry hauled with a will. The occasion was unique. And those few seconds
were worth to him the whole of Denry's precious life--yes, not excluding
the seconds in which he had kissed Ruth and the minutes in which he had
danced with the Countess of Chell. Then two men with beards took the
rope from his hands. The air was now alive with shoutings. Finally there
was a rush of men down the iron stairway to the lower part of the pier,
ten feet nearer the water.

"You stay here, you two!" Denry ordered.

"But, Denry--"

"Stay here, I tell you!" All the male in him was aroused. He was off,
after the rush of men. "Half a jiffy," he said, coming back. "Just take
charge of this, will you?" And he poured into their hands about twelve
shillings' worth of copper, small change of rents, from his hip-pocket.
"If anything happened, that might sink me," he said, and vanished.

It was very characteristic of him, that effusion of calm sagacity in a
supreme emergency.

IV

Beyond getting his feet wet Denry accomplished but little in the dark
basement of the pier. In spite of his success in hauling in the thrown
rope, he seemed to