harlie Christian
showed symptoms of alarm, and losing heart after a few moments, threw up
his fat little arms and sank. Like the swooping eagle, his mother
plunged forward, placed a hand under him, and lifted him on her
shoulders, where he recovered equanimity in a few minutes, and soon
wanted to be again sent afloat. When this had gone on for a little
time, the women reshouldered their babies and swam boldly out to sea,
followed at various distances by the youngsters. Of these latter, Sall
of Otaheite was by far the best. She easily outstripped the other
children, and could almost keep pace with the women.

Meanwhile Thursday October Christian and Susannah Young performed
amazing feats with the infants in the shallow water on the beach. Sarah
Quintal and Johnny Mills gave them some trouble, having a strong
disposition to explore places beyond their depth; but Dinah Adams and
Polly Young were as good as gold, spluttering towards their guardians
when called, and showing no tendency to do anything of their own
immediate free will, except sit on the sand and let the foam rush round
and over them like soap-suds.

Now, it is well-known that every now and then there are waves of the sea
which seem to have been born on a gigantic scale, and which, emerging
somewhere from the great deep, come to shore with a grander roar and a
higher rush than ordinary waves.

One such roller came in while no one was on the look-out for it. Its
deep-toned roar first apprised Susannah of its approach, but before she
could run to the rescue its white crest was careering up the beach in
magnificent style. It caught the infants, each sitting with a look of
innocent surprise on the sand. It turned them head over heels, and
swept them up the shingly shore. It tumbled Susannah herself over in
its might, and swept Thursday October fairly off his legs. Having
terminated its career thus playfully, the big wave retired, carrying
four babies in its embrace. But Susannah and Thursday had regained
their footing and their presence of mind. With a brave and, for him, a
rapid spring, Thursday caught little Sarah and Dinah as they were
rolling helpless down the strand, the one by an arm, the other by a leg,
and held on. At the same instant Susannah sprang forward and grasped
Jack Mills by the hair of the head, but poor Polly Young was beyond her
reach. Little Polly was the smallest, the neatest, and the dearest of
the sprawling band. She was ro