neck and his legs round his waist; he was terribly
frightened. And this Christophe well knew, yet he
straightened his back and proceeded to wade grandly
into the water.
'Do not be afraid, you are quite safe,' he bragged,
"Can you not feel the great strength of my muscles?'
Jan followed them in, but not very far, although he
was now intensely excited —so excited that he had
forgotten to sulk, and must spur Christophe on to
yet greater prowess.
'You are only just up to your knees,' he shouted,
'whereas the saint was right up to his chest — however,
perhaps you have not got his courage!'
Le tout petit Loup said nothing at all, for by now
he was smitten dumb with terror. Had he only
screamed all might yet have been well, but Christophe
was reassured by his silence.
'I am fighting the flood; I am brave, I am strong;
it is fine that the sea is so rough!' he told him. Then,
scowling at Jan: 'If you think me a coward I will
show you!' and he quickly waded in deeper.
At that moment a wave slapped le tout petit Loup,
and before he had recovered his breath, came another.
The next second Christophe was out of his depth and
found himself swimming about rather wildly.
'Loup —Loup!' he spluttered, 'Hang on to me,
Loup. It is really all right . . .* But Loup did not
answer.
It was only by the merest chance that Goundran
happened to be strolling along the beach at an hour
when the shore was completely deserted, and that
hearing Jan's ear-splitting yells for helj>, he realized
in a flash what had happened. Plunging in he dragged
out le tout petit Loup, who although he was certainly
not unconscious, proceeded to be very terribly sick,
having managed to swallow a lot of salt water;
however, he was left to fend for himself while Goun-
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