white; his eyes open and staring. There was a
cut upon the side of his head from which blood and water dribbled upon
her shoulder as she held him high out of the sea.

There sounded the clash of oars in her ears. How Betty had lowered the
jib, thrown over the anchor, and manned the skiff so quickly would
always be a mystery to Louise. But the "able seaman" knew this coast
as well, at least, as Lawford Tapp. They were just over a shoal, and
there was safe anchorage for a small craft.

"Give him to me. Land sakes!" gasped Betty over her head. "I never
see no city gal like you, Miss Lou."

Nor had Louise ever seen a woman with so much muscular strength and the
knowledge of how to apply it as Betty displayed. She lifted Lawford
out of the girl's arms and into the skiff with the dexterity of one
trained in hauling in halibut, for Betty had spent her younger years on
the Banks with her father.

Louise scrambled into the skiff without assistance. Betty was already
at the oars and Louise took the injured head of the man in her lap. He
began to struggle back to life again.

"I--I'm all right," he muttered. "Sorry made such a--a
fool--of--myself."

"Hush up, _you_!" snapped Betty. "I'd ought to have seed to this
skiff. Then you wouldn't have got battered like you did." A tear ran
frankly down Betty's nose and dripped off its end. "If anything really
bad had happened to you, Lawford, I'd a-never forgive myself. I
thought you was a goner for sure."

"Thanks to you, I'm not, I guess, Betty," he said more cheerfully. He
did not know who had jumped overboard to his rescue.

For some reason the girl was suddenly embarrassed by this fact.

The skiff reached the plunging sloop and Louise got inboard and aided
Betty to get Lawford over the rail. Then she slipped on her skirt.

Lawford slumped down in the cockpit, saying he was all right but
looking all wrong.

"Going to get him back to Tapp Point just as quick as I can," declared
the "able seaman" to Louise. "Doctor ought to see that cut."

"Oh, Betty!"

"Now, now, Miss Lou," murmured the old woman with the light of sudden
comprehension in her eyes. "Don't take on now! You've been a brave
gal so fur."

"And I will keep my courage," Louise said with tremulous smile.

"Go right over there an' hold his head, Miss Lou. Pet him up a leetle
bit; 'twon't hurt a mite."

The vivid blush that dyed the girl's cheeks signaled the fact that
Betty had guessed