o full effect. There had been five people in the boat,
three men and two girls, one of them just a child. One of the men and
one of the women couldn't swim a stroke. The woman had already given up
and the Eel took care of her. Another of the life-savers tackled the
struggling man.

It was evident that there was no need for more help there, so Eric swam
to where the little girl was striking out bravely for the shore.

"Can I give you a hand?" he asked.

The child, though swimming pluckily, evidently was hampered by being
fully dressed.

"Can't swim a bit with my boots on," she gurgled. The boy smiled with
genuine appreciation of her grit.

"You're the real thing," he said. "But it is hard swimming with boots
on. Suppose you let me take you to shore. It's just as easy!"

He swam in front of the child.

"Put your hands on my shoulders," he said, "and keep your feet well up.
Are you all right now?"

"Quite all right," she answered, dashing the water out of her eyes.

"I see they've put the fire out," said Eric, swimming quietly and
easily, for the girl's touch was like a feather on his shoulder. "I
don't believe the boat's much hurt."

"I'd be awfully glad if it wasn't," she answered, "because Jack just
borrowed it for the day and I'm sure he's feeling terribly. We were just
going to buy one this week."

"Perhaps this will scare him off."

In spite of her fatigue and fright the girl laughed brightly as Eric's
feet touched bottom and he stood up.

"It might him, but it won't me," she said, with a joyous disregard of
grammar. "And Jack's buying the boat mainly for me. I really can swim
quite well, but I suppose the explosion scared me. I don't believe I'd
have been frightened a bit if I had jumped in of my own accord. But it
was all so sudden!"

"Well," said Eric, "it's a good thing for you it didn't happen a long
way from shore. And I'm glad I was able to help a bit, too, because this
is my last day on duty and having helped you is about the best way of
celebrating it that could have happened."

"Your last day?" she said, with a note of regret in her voice. "You're
going away?"

"Yes," Eric replied, as they came to the water's edge and the crowd
began to congregate to meet them, "I'm just getting ready to join the
Coast Guard!"

"Great!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling, as she shook back her wet
hair. "But how can I thank you?"

"You have thanked me," the boy answered, as he took her to the beach
w