ure he would not do so this evening. He may have
got knocked down or run over or something."

"I will take an oar if you like, captain," said a man in a
yachtsman's suit, who was loitering near. "I have nothing to do,
and may as well row off as do anything else. You can put me on
shore in the dinghy afterwards."

"All right, my lad, take number two athwart. It is too dark to see
faces, and the owner is not likely to notice that there is a
strange hand on board. I will give you half a crown gladly for the
job."

The man got into the boat and took his seat.

"Here they come," the captain went on. "We are only just in time.
Up-end your oars, lads. We ain't strong enough to cheer, but we
will give them a hearty 'God bless you!' as they come down."

George Lechmere came on first, and handed in a bundle of wraps,
parasols, and umbrellas. The captain stood at the top of the steps,
and as Frank and Bertha came up took off his hat.

"God bless you and your wife, sir," he said, and the men re-echoed
the words in a deep chorus.

"Thank you, captain.

"Thank you all, lads, for my wife and myself," Frank said,
heartily, and a minute later the boat pushed off.

The tide was running out strong, and they were halfway across it
towards the dark mass of yachts, when there was a sudden crash
forward.

"What is it?" Frank exclaimed.

"This fellow has stove in the boat, sir," the bow oar exclaimed,
and then came a series of hurried exclamations.

Frank had not caught the words, but the rush of water aft told him
that something serious had happened.

"Row, men, row!" he shouted.

"Steer to the nearest yacht, Hawkins."

"We shall never get there, sir. She will be full in half a minute."

"Let each man stick to his oar," Frank said, standing up. "We aft
will hold on to the boat."

Then he raised his voice in a shout:

"Yachts, ahoy! Send boats; we are sinking!

"Don't be frightened, darling," he said to Bertha. "Keep hold of
the gunwale. I can keep you up easily enough until help comes, but
it is better to stick to the boat. We must have run against
something that has stove her in."

A moment later the water was up to the thwarts, the boat gave a
lurch, and then rolled over. Frank threw his arm round Bertha, and
as the boat capsized clung to it with his disengaged hand.

"Don't try to get hold of the keel," he said. "It would turn her
over again. Just let your hands rest on her, and take hold of the
edge of one of