on which it was crouching and shivering,
having dropped from his hand at the concussion, and feeling himself
still rather giddy and sick, got down amongst the astonished crowd,
and came towards Mabel and Dolly as we have seen.

It was the best moment, as he thought afterwards, in his life. Every
one, probably, with any imagination at all likes to conceive himself
at times as the performer of some heroic action extorting the
admiration he longs for from some particular pair of eyes, but
opportunities for thus distinguishing oneself are sadly rare nowadays,
and often when they come are missed, or, if grasped with success, the
fair eyes are looking another way and never see it.

But Mark had a satisfied sense of appearing to the utmost advantage as
he met the little girl and placed the dog in her arms. 'There's your
dog; he's quite safe, only a little frightened,' he said, with a
pleasant sympathy in his voice.

Dolly was too overcome for words; she caught Frisk up with her eyes
swimming, and ran away with him to pour her self-reproach and relief
into his pricked ears, without making any attempt to express her
thanks to his rescuer. Her sister, however, made him ample amends.

'How can we thank you?' she said, with a quiver in her voice and an
involuntary admiration in her eyes; 'it was so very, very brave of
you--you might have been killed!'

'I thought at first it was going to be rather a bad smash,' said
Mark--he could not resist the impulse now to make all the capital he
could out of what he had done--'I was knocked down--and--and
unconscious for a little while after it; but I'm not much hurt, as you
see. I don't _think_ I'm any the worse for it, and at all events your
little sister's dog isn't--and that's the main point, isn't it?' he
added, with a feeling that his words were equal to the occasion.

'Indeed it isn't,' said Mabel warmly; 'if you had been seriously hurt
I should never have forgiven myself for letting you go--but are you
sure you feel no pain anywhere?'

'Well,' he admitted, 'I fancy I was cut a little about the head' (he
was afraid she might not have noticed this), 'but that's a trifle.'

'There is a cut on your forehead,' said Mabel; 'it has been bleeding,
but I think it has stopped now. Let me bind it up for you in case it
should break out again.'

It was in truth a very small cut, and had hardly bled at all, but Mark
made light of it elaborately, as the surest means of keeping her
interest