est the pullin' o' a poor
drowned woman out o' the water arter the waves has laid her right smack
at your feet, an' then a-pumpin' a little swallered brine out o' her
lungs don't call for no fuss like what you an' Mr. Morton makes over it.
It'd be a mighty-sorry human what'd a let you lay thar an' die. That's
the way I feel 'bout it. 'S'fur's findin' o' ye here is consarned, that
hain't so."

He pointed at Roy as he continued:

"Thar's the feller what found ye, an' if thar's any other thanks
a-comin' they'd orter go to an old rooster, what used to live with me.
Which flighty bird eloped with you an' that tallow-faced Doctor. His
crowin' did the business."

The Captain chuckled.

"An', by cracky, I'm a-thinkin' from what we jest see that he's already
got his reward!"

Van Dusen, who had been showing signs of restlessness, now interrupted.

"I have a professional reputation at stake," he declared, a little
grimly. "I quite understand that you two lovers are perfectly happy in
being thus reunited again. But there still remains a duty to perform. I
must catch Garnet. Please, Miss Marion, tell me where he has gone, what
his intentions are."

"He is off on a mission of mercy," Ethel replied. "He has gone to get a
boat to come back here for me."

She explained in detail concerning the physician's project.

"I expect him back at any minute," she concluded. "If you folks will sit
down and wait patiently, your quarry will come to you."

Van Dusen asked some further questions, which the girl answered frankly,
to all appearance. The detective was convinced that he had, as she
suggested, only to remain in waiting at the shack, to make sure of
capturing his man within a few hours. He dismissed his anxiety
concerning Garnet, and for the gratification of his curiosity, begged
for a full narrative of the events that had happened after Ethel
regained consciousness.

The girl did not demur, but told the whole story of her dreadful
experiences. The three men sat spellbound as they listened to her
dramatic recital. They were thrilled by that climax when in the desolate
hut the physician at last made his full confession to the girl.

As Ethel came to the end of her account, Van Dusen addressed Roy with a
note of self-gratulation in his voice.

"Now, what do you think, Roy Morton? You remember that night on _The
Hialdo_ when I gave you my opinion of this affair? You remember, I said
that such cases are rare, but that in the e