e edge," was the reply.

Mr. Dix whistled softly and, glancing up at the tall, white-faced young
man before him, pushed his cap back and scratched his head.

"Ain't got anything on your mind, have you?" he inquired.

The young man groaned and turned away, and the mate, scenting a little
excitement, took him gently by the coat-sleeve and led him from the
brink. Sympathy begets confidence, and, within the next ten minutes, he
had learned that Arthur Heard, rejected by Emma Smith, was contemplating
the awful crime of self-destruction.

"Why, I've known 'er for seven years," said Mr. Heard; "seven years, and
this is the end of it."

The mate shook his head.

"I told 'er I was coming straight away to drownd myself," pursued Mr.
Heard. "My last words to 'er was, 'When you see my bloated corpse you'll
be sorry.'"

"I expect she'll cry and carry on like anything," said the mate,
politely.

The other turned and regarded him. "Why, you don't think I'm going to,
do you?" he inquired, sharply. "Why, I wouldn't drownd myself for fifty
blooming gells."

"But what did you tell her you were going to for, then?" demanded the
puzzled mate.

"'Cos I thought it would upset 'er and make 'er give way," said the
other, bitterly; "and all it done was to make 'er laugh as though she'd
'ave a fit."

"It would serve her jolly well right if you did drown yourself," said
Mr. Dix, judiciously. "It 'ud spoil her life for her."

"Ah, and it wouldn't spoil mine, I s'pose?" rejoined Mr. Heard, with
ferocious sarcasm.

"How she will laugh when she sees you to-morrow," mused the mate. "Is
she the sort of girl that would spread it about?"

Mr. Heard said that she was, and, forgetting for a moment his great
love, referred to her partiality for gossip in the most scathing terms
he could muster. The mate, averse to such a tame ending to a promising
adventure, eyed him thoughtfully.

"Why not just go in and out again," he said, seductively, "and run to
her house all dripping wet?"

"That would be clever, wouldn't it?" said the ungracious Mr. Heard.
"Starting to commit suicide, and then thinking better of it. Why, I
should be a bigger laughing-stock than ever."

"But suppose I saved you against your will?" breathed the tempter; "how
would that be?"

"It would be all right if I cared to run the risk," said the other, "but
I don't. I should look well struggling in the water while you was diving
in the wrong places for me, shouldn't I?"