k
after her. Come, come; you'll catch your death of cold staying out
here in your dripping clothes."

Somewhat reluctantly Miss Drummond obeyed. Reassuringly though her
father had spoken, she had misgivings as to her pony's fate--misgivings
which were in fact only too well founded; for, dragged to the bottom by
the weight of the carriage, the poor creature had been drowned in spite
of its desperate struggles.

When the Drummonds disappeared, Terry found himself the centre of a
circle of admirers, each of whom sought in his own way to give
expression to his admiration and envy.

"Sure and your fortune's made this day, Terry, me boy," said the
storeman, who wished in his heart that he had been lucky enough to
rescue his employer's daughter. "Mr. Drummond's not the man to forgit
his word; and didn't he say he'd do anything in the world for ye?"

But Terry's triumph was complete when the appearance of his father
lounging sullenly back to work, with a short clay pipe between his
teeth, was hailed with shouts from the crowd of,--

"Mike! Mike! come here wid ye, till we tell ye what yer boy's been
doin'. Oh, but you're the lucky man to have a boy like Terry!"

Without a change in his dark countenance, or a quickening of his step,
Black Mike drew near, and silently awaited explanations. When the
matter was made clear to him, his face did brighten a little; but
whether it was with pride at his son's achievement, or selfish pleasure
at the prospect of the benefits that might accrue from it, the keenest
observer would have been puzzled to say.

He managed, however, to get out something that more closely approached
praise than anything Terry had ever heard from his lips before, and
this delighted the boy so that he had to execute a few steps of his
favourite clog dance to relieve his feelings. Then, bethinking himself
that he had stayed long enough inside his uncomfortably wet clothing,
he raced up the wharf, and made for his home in Blind Alley.

Here his mother received him with a shower of questions, in the
answering of which he found rare delight.

"Me blessed boy!" the excited woman exclaimed, her feelings strangely
divided betwixt horror at the thought of the risk her son had run and
joy at its successful issue. "It's proud I am of you this day. No
doubt but ye'll be your mother's comfort."

"And make ye ride in a carriage with glass sides, eh, mother?" said
Terry with a merry twinkle in his eye.

"Ah!