ippled and
puckered as she passed. The next moment, the man in the boat glanced
about him and bent to his oars. The boat flew over the rippling water.
The same instant almost, North Wind perched again upon the river wall.

"How did you do that?" asked Diamond.

"I just blew in his face and blew the mist out of him."

"But what for? I don't understand!" said Diamond. Hearing no answer, he
looked down at the wall. North Wind was gone. Away across the river
went a long ripple--what sailors call a cat's paw. The man in the boat
at once put up his sail. The moon was coming to herself on the edge of a
great cloud and the sail began to shine white. Diamond rubbed his eyes
and wondered what it was all about. But he felt that he could not know
more till he had gone to bed, so he turned away and started for home. He
stopped to look out of a window before going to bed. Above the moon, the
clouds were streaming different ways, and the wind was rising as he fell
asleep.

He woke in the middle of the night and the darkness. A terrible noise
was rumbling overhead like the rolling beat of great drums. For a while,
he could not come quite awake. But a second peal of thunder broke over
his head and a great blast of wind followed which tore some tiles off
the roof and, through the hole this made, sent a spout of wind down into
his face. At the same moment, he heard a mighty, yet musical voice say,
"Come up, Diamond! It's all ready. I am waiting for you." Then a
gigantic arm was reached down which drew him up and clasped him against
North Wind's breast.

"Oh, North Wind!" he murmured. But the words vanished from his lips as
he had seen the soap bubbles, that burst too soon, vanish from the
mouth of his pipe. The wind caught them and they were no-where.

At the same moment, a peal of thunder which shook Diamond's heart
against his side boomed out of the heavens; I cannot say, out of the
sky, for there was no sky. Diamond had not seen the lightning for he had
been busy trying to find the face of North Wind. Every moment, the folds
of her garment would sweep across his eyes and blind him. But between
them, he could just catch glimpses of the great glories of her eyes
looking down at him through the rifts of the huge clouds over his head.

"Oh dear North Wind!" cried the boy. "Why do you do like this? Must you
go and sink the ship? It is not like you! Here you are, taking care of a
poor little boy like me, with one arm, and there you ar