these two flecks of light was perched a battered old leghorn hat after the style affected in the music halls of those days. Floating out back of this hat on the water was a long wavery coil of filmy hair, the face was shaded, but two long slim arms were thrust out of the water toward me, and following these arms down a bit I was shocked and surprised to find that further than the hat the young lady below me was apparently innocent of garments. Now I believe in going out with the boys when the occasion demands and making a bit of a time of it, but my folks have always been good, honest church people and believers in good, strong, modest clothing and plenty of 'em. I have always followed their example." "Reluctantly and at a great distance," said I. "Not at all," said he and continued. "So when I sees the condition the young lady was in I was naturally very much put out and I didn't hesitate telling her so. 'Go home,' says I, 'and put your clothes on. You ought to be ashamed of yourself--a great big girl like you.' 'Aw, pipe down, old grizzle face,' says she; 'wot have you got in the bucket?' And if you will believe me she began raising herself out of the water. 'Give me some,' says she.' 'Stop,' I cries out exasperated; 'stop where you are; you've gone far enough. For shame.' 'I'll come all the way out,' says she, laughing, 'unless you give me some of wot you got in that bucket.' 'Shame,' I repeated, 'ain't you got no sense of decency?' 'None wotsoever,' she replied, 'but I'm awfully thirsty. Gimme a drink or out I'll come.' "Now you can see for yourself that I couldn't afford to have a woman in her get-up sitting around with me on the end of a dock, being married as I was and my folks all good honest church folks, and bright moon shining in the sky to boot, so I was just naturally forced to give in to the brazen thing and reach her down the bucket, a full one at that. It came back empty and she was forwarder than ever." 'Say,' she cries out, swimming around most exasperatingly, 'you're a nice old party. What do your folks know you by?' "I told her my name was none of her business and that I was a married man and that I wished she'd go away and let me go on with my night watching.""I'm married too,' says she, in a conversational tone, 'to an awful mess. You're pretty fuzzy, but I'd swap him for you any day. Come on into the sea with me and we'll swim down to Gold Fish Arms and stick around until we get a drink. I know lots of the boys down there. There ain't no liquor dealers where I come from,' and with this if you will believe me she flips a bucket full of water into my lap with the neatest little scale spangled tail you ever seen.'

'No,' says I, 'my mind's made up. I ain't agoing to go swimming around 

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