d him to hasten
at once to her assistance. Anxiously he peered over the edge, and at
length saw a hand thrust above the surface. It took him but an instant
to tear off his coat and hurl himself into the water below. A few
powerful strokes brought him close to the woman, and he was enabled to
reach out and clutch her with a firm grip ere she again disappeared.
Fortunate it was for him that he was a strong swimmer, and he was thus
able to hold the woman's head above water while he slowly worked his
way toward the lower side of the dock, where he hoped to find a landing
place. He had not proceeded far, however, ere a rowboat shot suddenly
out from the shore, and a deep voice hailed him.

"Hold on a minute!" was the order. Soon the boat was near, and both
Douglas and the woman were hauled aboard.

"What have ye got there? A woman?" the boatman asked.

"Yes," was the brief response.

"Thought so," the rescuer laconically remarked. "Screamed when she
went over, didn't she?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. They all do that. It was her I heard all right."

"What, is such a case as this common?" Douglas asked in surprise.

"Well, I couldn't say it is common, but forty odd years in and around
this harbour afford one some queer sights. But here we are."

The boatman swung his craft around and drew it up by the side of a
tugboat which was lying at its wharf. It did not take long to lift the
woman from the rowboat up to the deck above.

"Have you a light?" Douglas enquired. "I want to see whether this
woman is dead or alive."

"Oh, she's alive all right," was the reply. "Ye can't knock the likes
of her out with a little dip like that. But I'll get the light, if ye
want it."

It did not take the old man long to bring a lantern, and when the light
fell upon the woman's face she moved her head and gave a slight moan.

"She's all right," the boatman remarked. "The best thing to do is to
phone fer the ambulance. The hospital's the place fer her. She'll
have a decent place fer the night, anyway, and they'll fix her up
there. There's a phone in the drug-store just around the corner."

Douglas realised that this was the best course to pursue and, wet
though he was, he sprang ashore and hurried up the street. It took him
only a few minutes to reach the drug-store, where he sent in a hurry
call for the ambulance. He paid no attention to the curious looks cast
upon his drenched figure by several people who were sta