"Hi, there!" he shouted, and Gwen looked up, and wildly waved her hands.
"Sit still!" he commanded, "or something'll happen. Keep still, an' we'll pull ye in when ye come 'long side."
Very thankful was Gwen when later, she found herself safe on the deck, the rough tub bobbing away across the waves, while the fishermen listened to her story of the trick that Max had played.
"If that boy was mine I know what he'd get, for doing a mean trick like that!" said one man, to which another responded:
"And I'd be glad ter help ye give it ter him."
One would have thought that Mrs. Harcourt might have been anxious because of Gwen's long absence, and her non-appearance at the noon meal, but such was not the case.
Some one at the table spoke of Gwen, asking if she were ill.
"Oh, dear no!" Mrs. Harcourt said, with a light laugh; "Gwen is never ill, but she is so very popular that when she does not appear at meal time, I know that someone has urged her to lunch at her home. Gwen is dearly loved, and so is constantly being coaxed to remain at this house or that."
The other guests could not be blamed if they wondered who it might be who continually longed to have Gwen as a guest.
When the noon meal was over, the guests made their way out onto the piazza, seating themselves in little groups for an afternoon of chat and gossip.