with the care of
two."

"No, mother," spoke up Edward, quickly; "you and Zoe will be my charge,
of course."

"Ridiculous, Ned! of course, Harold and I will take care of mamma,"
exclaimed Herbert. "You will have enough to do to look out for your
wife's safety."

(The yacht had touched at Cape May and taken the two college students
aboard there.)

"I shall be well taken care of," their mother said, laughingly, with an
affectionate glance from one to another of her three tall sons; "but I
should like one of you to take charge of Rosie, another of Walter; and,
in fact, I don't think I need anything for myself but a strong hold of
the rope to insure my safety."

"You shall have more!" exclaimed father and sons in a breath; "the surf
is heavy here, and we cannot risk your precious life."

Mr. Dinsmore added, "None of you ladies ought to stay in very long, and
we will take you in turn."

"Papa, may I go in?" asked Lulu, eagerly.

"Yes; I'll take you in," the captain answered; "but the waves are so
boisterous that I doubt if you will care to repeat the experiment. Max,
I see, is waiting his chance to ask the same question," he added, with a
fatherly smile directed to the boy; "you may go in too, of course, my
son, if you will promise to hold on to the rope. I cannot think that
otherwise you would be safe in that boiling surf."

"But I can swim, papa," said Max; "and won't you let me go with you out
beyond the surf, where the water is more quiet?"

"Why yes, you shall," the captain replied, with a look of pleasure; "I
did not know that you had learned to swim."

"I don't want to go in," said timid little Grace, as if half fearful it
might be required of her. "Mamma is not going, and can't I stay with
her, papa?"

"Certainly, daughter," was the kind reply. "I suppose you feel afraid of
those dashing waves, and I should never think of forcing you in among
them against your will."

Betty Johnson now announced her intention to join the bathers. "It's
the first chance I've ever had," she remarked, "and I shan't throw it
away. I'll hold on to the rope, and if I'm in any danger I suppose Bob,
or some of the rest of you, will come to my assistance?"

"Of course we will!" all the gentlemen said, her brother adding, "And if
there's a good chance, I'll take you over to Nantucket Town, where
there's still-bathing, and teach you to swim."

"Just what I should like," she said. "I have a great desire to add that
to the alr