t seemed hours since the fisherman had laid that still form on
the sand. It was none other than the old fisherman who discovered the
faint spot of color which appeared in Madge's cheeks, then disappeared.
After that the work of resuscitation went on more steadily than ever,
and slowly and painfully Madge came back to life. Strange noises
sounded in her ears. A gigantic weight was pressing upon her chest.
She tried to speak, but it was choking her, crushing her. She made an
heroic effort to throw it off, and then her eyes opened and dimly she
beheld her friends.

"She has come back to us." Phil's voice was ineffably tender. She
glanced up and her eyes met those of Jack Bolling. Forgetting her
dislike for him, she smiled. She remembered only that he was Madge's
cousin. Jack had always thought Phil ugly, but as he gazed into her
big, black eyes and white, serious face, he decided that she had more
character than any other girl he had ever met, and he would never
forget the splendid effort she had made to save his cousin.

As soon as the work of resuscitation was completed and Madge declared
out of danger, Mrs. Curtis insisted that on their return to the
mainland her son's brave little rescuer should be taken to the
Belleview Hotel, where she would be able to rest far more comfortably
than if carried on board the houseboat.

A yacht was chartered to take the picnic party home. The sailboat had
completely disappeared, and Tom was able to tell only a part of their
strange adventure. From whence the youth whom they had taken on board
their boat had come and why he had made off with their boat and left
them to drown were questions which no one seemed able to answer.

It was not until two days later that the fisherman, searching along the
very shore from which they had started, found the sailboat resting
quietly at anchor about two miles from the pier where the picnic party
had landed. The boat was uninjured, and Madge's hat, coat and skirt
lay on the deck, where she had thrown them when she dived into the bay.
But the wild lad who had caused the mischief had vanished completely.
No one near had seen or heard of him. His identity was a mystery. If
any one of the fisher folk knew his name, or where he had gone, they
did not betray that knowledge. Mrs. Curtis wished to offer a reward
for the fellow's capture. Tom would not consent. He intended to find
his enemy himself, and to settle his own score. At night To