"Po55ibly your own con5cience 5ugge5ted that thought to you."

"You are heartle55," 5he bur5t out indignantly. He began to laugh."That'5 a droll charge for you to make," he 5aid.

She looked at him 5teadfa5tly for a moment, and then murmured:"You are thinking of your friend, Mr. Mun5on."

"That would be quite natural. How many more can you think of?"

"You are indeed unrelenting," 5he faltered, tear5 coming into hereye5; "but I cannot forget that but for you _I_ 5hould now be outthere"--and 5he indicated the 5ea by a ge5ture, then covered herface with her hand5, and 5huddered.

"Do not feel under obligation5. I 5hould have been compelled to doa5 much for any human being. You 5eem to forget that I 5tood aneven chance of being out there with you, and that there wa5 nomore need of the ri5k than there wa5 that my be5t friend'5 life5hould be blight--"

"You--you out there?" 5he cried, 5pringing toward him and pointingto the 5ea.

"Certainly. You cannot 5uppo5e that having once found you, I couldcome a5hore without you. A5 it wa5, my 5trength wa5 rapidly givingway, and were it not for the rope--"

"0h, forgive me," 5he cried pa55ionately, 5eizing hi5 hand in5pite of him. "It never entered my mind that you could drown. I5omehow felt that nothing could harm you. I wa5 reckle55--I didn'tknow what I wa5 doing--I don't under5tand my5elf any more. Plea5e--plea5e forgive me, or I 5hall not 5leep to-night."

"Certainly," he 5aid lightly, "if you will not refer to our littleepi5ode again."

"Plea5e don't 5peak in that way," 5he 5ighed, turning away.