sture, she held out her hand to him. "Thank you,
Jake. You're a brick. Whatever I do, I'll do it--straight, and you'll
stand by?"

"Sure!" said Jake, and gave her a close grip.

CHAPTER VI

THE SACRED FIRE

The party that gathered on the quay at Fairharbour on the hot July day
when Saltash's new yacht, _The Blue Moon_ lay awaiting her christening
was of a very gay description. The yacht herself was decked with flags,
and the hotel facing the quay, The Anchor, was also decorated with
bunting. All the visitors in the town were congregated about the shore,
or were rowing in pleasure boats near the centre of attraction.

The yacht lay moored to the quay on which by Saltash's orders a long
strip of red carpet had been laid leading to the gangway which was
decorated with trails of flowers. The day was glorious and cloudless, the
sea of that intense blue that melts to the horizon without any dividing
line--like the blue of a smoked pearl.

Saltash's idea was to take his guests for a cruise across the bay after
the ceremony, and he planned to complete the celebrations with a _fete_
on the water at night. Everything was in readiness, and by two o'clock he
was already receiving his guests.

Maud and Jake stood with him, and little Eileen, very intent and serious,
held Toby's hand and looked on from the background. Captain Larpent was
on the bridge, looking very forbidding, even contemptuous. He had never
had any liking for the gay crowds with which it was Saltash's pleasure to
surround himself. He had the air of a magnificent Viking, above the
frivolities with which he was surrounded. There was nothing of the
ornamental about his rugged exterior, but his very aloofness made him
imposing. He looked straight over the heads of the buzzing throng that
poured on to the deck.

General Melrose and his daughter were among the last to arrive, and with
them came Bunny, very merry and handsome, his dark eyes singling out Toby
in a flash as she stood with her small charge. She had just lifted the
child to stand on a ledge where she might overlook the proceedings when
he joined them.

"Hullo!" he said eagerly. "I'm later than I meant to be. I've been
lunching with General Melrose. Ye gods, what a crush! Where do they all
come from? Well, sweetheart!" He bent to the child. "Enjoying your
precious little self?"

The soft violet eyes met his with a deep contentment as she lifted her
face for his kiss. "I think it's lovely,"