y to the crying lady, who no longer
interested her; "I assure you I don't need it," he said, carelessly; and
the "lady" reached out a small, shaking hand, on which the kid glove was
soaking wet, and said, her teeth chattering, that she was awfully
obliged.

"Get in--get in!" one of the "gentlemen" said, crossly, and as she
stepped into the now bailed-out skiff, she said to Maurice, "Where shall
I return it to?"

"I'll come and get it," Maurice said--and she called across the strip of
water widening between the two boats:

"I'm Miss Lily Dale--" and added her street and number.

Maurice, in his shirt sleeves, lifted his hat; then looked at Edith and
grinned. "Did you ever see such idiots? Those men are chumps. Did you
hear the fat one jaw at the girl?"

"Did he?" Edith said, timidly. She could hardly bear to look at Maurice,
he was so wonderful.

But he, entirely good-natured again, was overflowing with fun. "Let's
turn around," he said, "and follow 'em! That fatty was rather
happy--did you get on to that flask?"

Edith had no idea what he meant, but she said, breathlessly, "Yes,
Maurice." In her own mind she was seeing again that princely gesture,
that marvelous tossing of his own coat to the "lady"! "He is _exactly_
like Sir Walter Raleigh," she said to herself. She remembered how at
Green Hill she had wanted him to spread his coat before Eleanor's
feet;--but _that_ was commonplace! Eleanor was just a married person,
"like mother." This was a wonderful drowning lady! Oh, he _was_ Sir
Walter! Her eyes were wide with an entirely new emotion--an emotion
which made her draw back sharply when once, as he rowed, his hand
touched hers. She was afraid of that careless touch. Yet oh, if he would
only give _her_ some of his clothes! Oh, why hadn't _she_ fallen into
the water! Her heart beat so that she felt she could not speak. It was
not necessary; Maurice, singing a song appropriate to the lady with the
red cheeks, was not aware of her silence.

"I bet," he said, "that cad takes it out of the little thing! She looked
scared, didn't you think, Edith?"

"Yes, ... _sir_" the little girl said, breathlessly.

Maurice did not notice the new word; "Sorry not to take you down to the
Point," he said; "but I ought to keep tabs on that boat. If they capsize
again, somebody really might get hurt. She's a--a little fool, of
course; but I'd hate to have the fat brute drown her, and he looks
capable of it."

However, trailing