please don't!" cried Roderick in dismay.

"But it would make such a nice column for The _Chronicle_," said the
girl demurely. "I really can't promise, Fred. Tom Allen would give me
ten dollars for it, I am sure."

"If you dare!" cried the young man wrathfully. "I'd never hear the end
of it. And your mother would never let you out on the water again, you
know that, Les," he added threateningly.

"That's so," she admitted. "Well, I'll see, Freddy. Cheer up. If I
do tell I promise to make you the hero of the adventure."

She waved her hand to him laughingly, as Roderick's long strokes sent
them skimming away over the darkening water. When they were beyond
earshot, she turned to her rescuer.

"It's all right to joke about it now," she said, her tone tremulous,
"but it was beginning to be anything but a joke. I--I do believe--
Why, I just know that you saved my life, Roderick McRae. And there is
one person I am going to tell, I don't care who objects, and that's my
father. And you'll hear from him; for he thinks, the poor mistaken
man, that his little Leslie is the whole thing!"

And even though Roderick protested vigorously, he could not help
feeling that it would be a great stroke of good fortune to have
Algonquin's richest and most powerful man feel he was in his debt.

CHAPTER V

FOLLOWING THE GLEAM

When the _Inverness_ bumped against the wharf at Algonquin, the strange
girl, standing with her bag in her hand, waiting to step ashore, was
surprised to see the late enemy of the boat drive down upon the dock.
She was still more surprised to see that his face was beaming with good
nature, as he hailed the captain. But then, she did not, as yet, know
Lawyer Edward Brians.

"Hech, Jamie, lad!" he shouted. "Hoot! Awa wi ye, mon! Are ye no
gaun tae get the fowk ashore the nicht?"

And then there was a long outpouring of strange indistinguishable
sounds, which caused the Ancient Mariner to stop smoking and
expectorate into Lake Algonquin with a disgusted "Huh!" For Lawyer
Ed's Gaelic, though fluent, was a thing to make Highland ears shudder.

At the first appearance of the buggy, the captain had turned away in
haughty silence, and went on with his task of seeing that his
passengers were safely landed, without so much as a glance at his
talkative friend.

But his frigid reception seemed only to tickle Lawyer Ed's sense of
amusement. He leaned back in his seat, shut up his eyes, and laughed