Dora had gone under, but she rose again only a short distance from the bank. Gilbert saw by the look of appeal in her eyes, though her lips uttered no sound, that she was not unconscious. Taking one of his crutches, he extended it towards her, telling her to catch hold of it. At first, he feared she was too frightened and bewildered to obey him; but, to his intense joy and relief, she succeeded in gripping it, and slowly he drew her by that means to the bank. Oh, how thankful he was at that moment for the infirmity which made his crutches a necessity! But for his lameness he would certainly not have been able to save Dora's life. His heart was full of exultation as he lifted the little form of his dearly-loved sister out of the water. He covered her pale, cold face with kisses as he held her in his arms, and implored her to speak to him. But Dora was quite unconscious now; her blue eyes were closed, and she showed no signs of life. "Surely she is not dead!" Reginald exclaimed, as Gilbert laid her on the bank and began gently to chafe her hands. "She was not in the water very long. She can't be dead!" "Dead!" echoed Gerald in a hollow tone. He was sitting on the bank, a miserable, dripping object, when the dread word fell upon his ears. Rising, he went to Dora's side, and gazed at her with a growing horror upon his face. "Oh, it is true," he wailed; "she is dead! And I have killed her!" "No, no," Gilbert replied soothingly, "she is not dead. I can feel her heart beating. Oh, Dora, darling, open your eyes and look at me! Oh, my little sister!" And poor Gilbert's tears fell hotly, whilst he vainly tried to repress his emotion. Perhaps his imploring voice reached Dora's dulled ears, for she really did open her eyes for a moment, and smiled faintly as she saw her brother; but she relapsed into unconsciousness, and Gilbert looked at the others despairingly, no whit ashamed of his tears, big boy as he was. [Illustration: HE EXTENDED IT TOWARDS HER, TELLING HER TO CATCH HOLD OF IT.] "What can we do?" he asked. "We ought to get her home as soon as we can. Oh, here comes some one! What a blessing! I know the man by sight; he's a farm labourer, I believe." A big, good-natured looking countryman now appeared, and stood staring at the little group wonderingly, his ruddy countenance expressive of much concern. He had been going home from Work, he explained, and passing the gateway where Dora had left her bulrushes, he had paused to see if the owner of them was anywhere about; then he had become aware that something was amiss at one of the clay pits, and had hurried there to ascertain if he could be of any assistance. Gilbert briefly told him what had happened, and added that he was anxious to get his sister at home as soon as possible.