ich
she had no control compelling her, and Arthur himself sat down rather
relieved.

But he was destined that day to play knight-errant to ladies in
distress. Presently Mrs. Carr's cabin-door opened, and that lady
herself emerged therefrom, holding on to the side-rail. He had just
begun to observe how charmingly she was dressed, when some qualm
seized her, and she returned to re-enter the cabin. But the door had
swung-to with the roll of the vessel, and she could not open it.
Impelled by an agony of doubt, she flew to the side, and, to his
horror, sprang with a single bound on to the broad rail that
surmounted the bulwark netting, and remained seated there, holding
only to a little rope that hung down from the awning-chain. The ship,
which was at the moment rolling pretty heavily, had just reached the
full angle of her windward roll, and was preparing for a heavy swing
to leeward. Arthur, seeing that Mrs. Carr would in a few seconds
certainly be flung out to sea, rushed promptly forward and lifted her
from the rail. It was none too soon, for next moment down the great
ship went with a lurch into a trough of the sea, hurling him, with her
in his arms, up against the bulwarks, and, to say truth, hurting him
considerably. But, if he expected any thanks for this exploit, he was
destined to be disappointed, for no sooner had he set his lovely
burden down, than she made use of her freedom to stamp upon the deck.

"How could you be so foolish?" said he. "In another moment you would
have been flung out to sea!"

"And pray, Mr. Heigham," she answered, in a cutting and sarcastic
voice, "is that my business or your own? Surely it would have been
time enough for you to take a liberty when I asked you to jump over
after me."

Arthur drew himself up to his full height and looked dignified--he
could look dignified when he liked.

"I do not quite understand you, Mrs. Carr," he said, with a little
bow. "What I did, I did to save you from going overboard. Next time
that such a little adventure comes in my way, I hope, for my own sake,
that it may concern a lady possessed of less rudeness and more
gratitude."

And then, glaring defiance at each other, they separated; she marching
off with all the dignity of an offended queen to the "sweet seclusion
that a cabin grants," whilst he withdrew moodily to a bench,
comforted, however, not a little by the thought that he had given Mrs.
Carr a Roland for her Oliver.

Mrs. Carr's bound o