d not care about swimming back. Then seating himself on the side,
he began talking and chatting to the men, who were shaking mackerel out
of their dark-brown nets, where they hung caught by the gills, which
acted like the barbs to their arrow-like flight through the sea against
the drift-net, and prevented their return.

They were in no hurry to get in, for there was no means of sending their
fish off till morning, hence they took matters coolly enough.

"Did you do the dive to-night, Master Mark?" said the master of the
boat.

"Yes, to be sure," said Mark conceitedly. "Bah! it's mere child's
play."

"And yet Mas'r Harry Paul never does it," said another, in the sing-song
tone peculiar to the district.

"He! a miserable coward!" cried Penelly, contemptuously. "He hasn't the
spirit of a fly. Such a fellow ought to be hounded out of the place.
Why, I could pick out a dozen boys of twelve who would do it."

"Yes," said the master of the lugger maliciously, "but he's a beautiful
swimmer."

"Tchah! I'd swim twice as far," said Penelly. "He's a wretched coward,
and I hate him."

"What! because he can swim better than you, sir?" said the master.

"I tell you I'm the better swimmer," said Penelly sharply.

"Then it must be because he thrashed you for behaving ill to poor old
Tom Genna?"

"He thrash me!" cried Penelly contemptuously. "I should like to see him
do it."

"Here's your chance, then," said the master maliciously. "He's swimming
straight for the boat."

Mark Penelly's face grew a shade more sallow, but he said nothing, only
knelt down by a pile of loose net, and watched the young man, whom he
looked upon as his rival, till Harry, swimming gracefully and well, came
right up and answered the hail of the fishermen with a cheery shout.

"Come aboard, Mas'r Harry; we're going to have the sweeps out soon, and
we'll take you in."

"No, thank you," was the reply. "I am going round you, and then back."

Mark Penelly had gone over to the other side of the lugger while the
conversation was going on, and he did not face the man he looked upon as
his rival; while Harry, unnoticed by the busy fishers as he swam round,
went on, touching the sides of the lugger as he lightly swam, but only
the next moment to find himself entangled in a quantity of the thin
mackerel net, which seemed somehow to descend upon him like a cloud, and
before he could realise the fact he was under water, hopelessly fettered
by th