"Yes, sir, there is no doubt of that," answered Grit sincerely.
"I shudder to think what a sad blank my own life would have been if I had lost my dear boy. He is my only child, and for this reason I should have missed him the more. Your brave act is one that I cannot fitly reward——"
"I don't need any reward, Mr. Jackson," said Grit hastily.
"I am sure you do not. You do not look like a mercenary boy. But, for all that, I owe it to myself to see that so great a favor does not go unacknowledged. My brave boy, accept this wallet and what it contains, not as the payment of a debt, but as the first in the series of my acknowledgments to you."
As he spoke, he put into the hand of the young boatman a wallet.
"I am very much obliged to you, Mr. Jackson," said Grit, "but I am not sure that I ought to take this."
"Then let me decide for you," said the broker, smiling. "I am older, and may be presumed to have more judgment."
"It will seem as if I took pay for saving Willie from drowning."
"If you did, it would be perfectly proper. But you forget that I have had the use of your boat and your own services for the greater part of the afternoon."