in his arms; "there is
nothing to be afraid of, darling. Do you think papa would leave you
behind or drop you into the water?"

"No; I know you wouldn't," she said, with a little nervous laugh, and
clinging tightly about his neck.

"Mayn't I wade out, papa?" Max called after him.

"Yes; but stay with your sister till I come for her."

"Where's my baby, Levis?" asked Violet, laughingly, as he set Grace down
by her side.

"The baby! Sure enough, where is it?" he exclaimed, with an anxious
glance toward the shore.

"Ah, there stands the nurse with it in her arms. You shall have it in
yours in a moment."

"Here's the baby, papa; please take her first; I don't mind waiting,"
said Lulu, as he stepped ashore again.

He gave her a pleased, approving look. "That is right; it will be but a
minute or two," he said, as he took the babe and turned away with it.

In a few minutes more, all the passengers were aboard, and they set
sail; but they had not gone far when it became evident that something
was amiss; they were making no progress.

"What is the matter?" asked several voices, and Violet looked
inquiringly at her husband.

"There is no cause for apprehension," he said; "we are aground, and may
possibly have to wait here for the turn of the tide; that's all."

"It's the lowest tide I ever saw," remarked the captain of the yacht;
"we'll have to lighten her; if some of the heaviest of you will get into
the dory, it will help."

Quite a number immediately volunteered to do so, among them Edward and
Zoe, Bob and Betty, Harold and Herbert. The dory was speedily filled,
and then, with a little more exertion the yacht was set afloat.

They moved out into deep water, and a gentle breeze wafted them
pleasantly toward their desired haven.

"Look at the sun, papa," Elsie said, gazing westward. "It has a very
peculiar appearance."

"Yes," he said, "it looks a good deal like a balloon; it's redness
obscured by that leaden-colored cloud. It is very near its setting; we
shall not get in till after dark."

"But that will not matter?"

"Oh, no; our captain is so thoroughly acquainted with his vessel, the
harbor and the wharf, that I have no doubt he would land us safely even
were it much darker than it will be."

Zoe and Edward, in the dory, were talking with a Nantucket lady, a Mrs.
Fry.

"How do you like our island, and particularly our town?" she asked.

"Oh, ever so much!" said Zoe. "We have visited a good many