the wonders of the world. "The
largest vessel ever seen in Bombay," said an enthusiastic Parsee, "used
to be the Bates Family, of Liverpool, and now there she lies alongside
of us looking like a mere jolly-boat."

While Sam and his friends were thus standing absorbed by the
contemplation of the curious sights and sounds around them, one of the
engineer staff, who had served on board during the laying of the 1866
Atlantic cable, chanced to pass, and, recognising Robin as an old
friend, grasped and shook his hand warmly. Robin was not slow to return
the greeting.

"Frank Hedley," he exclaimed, "why, I thought you had gone to
California!"

"Robin Wright," replied the young engineer, "I thought you were dead!"

"Not yet," returned Robin; "I'm thankful to report myself alive and
well."

"But you ought to be dead," persisted Frank, "for you've been mourned as
such for nigh a couple of years. At least the vessel in which you
sailed has never been heard of, and the last time I saw your family, not
four months since, they had all gone into mourning for you."

"Poor mother!" murmured Robin, his eyes filling with tears, "but, please
God, we shall meet again before long."

"Come--come down with me to the engine-room and have a talk about it,"
said Frank, "and let your friends come too."

Just as he spoke, one of the little brown-faced Mohammedan boys fixed
his glittering eyes on an opening in the bulwarks of the ship, through
which the water could be seen glancing brightly. That innate spirit of
curiosity peculiar to small boys all the world over, induced him to
creep partly through the opening and glance down at the sparkling fluid.
That imperfect notion of balance, not infrequent in small boys, caused
him to tip over and cleave the water with his head. His Mohammedan
relatives greeted the incident with shrieks of alarm. Robin, who had
seen him tip over, being a good swimmer, and prompt to act, went through
the same hole like a fish-torpedo, and caught the brown boy by the hair,
as he rose to the surface with staring eyes, outspread fingers, and a
bursting cry.

Rope-ends, life-buoys, and other things were flung over the side; oars
were plunged; boats darted forward; fifty efforts at rescue were made in
as many seconds, for there was wealth of aid at hand, and in a
wonderfully brief space of time the brown boy was restored to his
grateful friends, while Robin, enveloped in a suit of dry clothes much
too large for