sed to it."

"Of course," assented Dan, "because we know we are coming back."

"Coming back!" repeated the other slowly. "We are not always sure of that.
Sometimes we leave the land, the light, behind us forever."

"Oh, not forever!" said Dan. "We would have to strike light and land
somewhere unless we drowned."

"We don't drown," continued the stranger. "We do worse: we drift,--drift
in darkness and night."

Dan stared. His companion had taken his cigar from his lips and was
letting its glow die into ashes.

"Folks do drown sometimes," said Dan. "I tell you if you go round the
bottom of this boat you'd see how we could drown mighty easily. Just a
wheel or crank or a valve a mite wrong,--whewy! we'd all be done for. But
they don't go wrong; that's the wonder of it, isn't it?" said Dan,
cheerfully. "If everybody kept steady and straight as a steam-engine, this
would be a mighty good world."

"No doubt it would," was the reply. "Are you not rather young to be facing
it alone?"

"Oh, I'm not alone!" said Dan, hastily. "I'm off with a lot of other
fellows for the seashore. We are college boys from Saint Andrew's."

"Saint Andrew's?" The stranger started so violently that the dying cigar
dropped from his hold. "Saint Andrew's College, you say, boy! Not Saint
Andrew's in--"

But a clear young voice broke in upon the excited question.

"Dan Dolan! Where are you, Dan? Oh, I've been looking everywhere for
you!"

And, fresh and rosy from his long rest, Freddy Neville bounded out
gleefully to Dan's side.

A low cry burst from the stranger's lips, and he stood staring at the boys
as if turned into stone.

VIII.--A NEW FRIEND.

"Jing, you gave me a scare, Dan!" said Freddy, drawing a long breath of
relief. "I thought you had dropped overboard."

"Overboard!" scoffed Dan. "You must think I'm a ninny. And you have been
sleeping sure! Got to keep this sort of thing up all summer?"

"Oh, no, no!" said Freddy; "only for a few days,--until I get real well
and strong; though Brother Bart will keep fussing over me, I know. Golly,
I wish we had Uncle Tom along with us!"

"All right, is he?" asked Dan.

"Great!" replied Freddy, emphatically. "Doesn't baby you a bit; lets you
row and swim and dive when you go off with him. Most as good as a real
father."

"_Just_ as good, I guess," amended Dan.

"No," said Freddy, shaking his head. "You see, he has other
work--preaching and saying Mass and giving missions--w