"On no account!" he answered, not too politely, interposing his solid bulk between her and the gate. Seeing her bridle, he corrected himself. "Most kind of you, to be sure; but—ah—not just now. I left the dear soul asleep, and dreaming of the angels." Miss Ruth turned away disappointed, and her attention was at once diverted by the Eyesore’s extraordinary antics. Sempronius, that intelligent cat, clearly comprehending that the fisherman could not leave his rod, was preparing to spring at the fish. "Oh! look at the Eyesore!" cried Miss Ruth. "Haha!" laughed Brooke-Hoskyn. "Sempronius is about to snatch his fish! Observe his antics! Reely, most amusing!" In the Gazebo the lovers and Doctor Sternroyd had finished, and the Doctor closed the book with a sigh of satisfaction. "There! I think that’s all!" They prepared to leave their shelter, unconscious of the excitement in the Walk. But at that moment the Eyesore, driven to desperation by the threatened loss of his fish, sprang at Sempronius with uncontrollable fury, seized the animal by the scruff of his neck, and—_horresco referens_—hurled him into the river. Then he picked up his fish, and bolted. [Illustration: THE EYESORE SEIZED THE ANIMAL BY THE SCRUFF OF HIS NECK, AND HURLED HIM INTO THE RIVER] Ruth screamed; Barbara screamed; Nanette and Jane screamed; while Mrs. Poskett waved her arms and screamed louder than any of them: "Sempronius!—Save him!" Ruth turned wildly to Mr. Brooke-Hoskyn. "Save him!" "In these clothes!" cried he, much offended. They had all forgotten the hero of the Battle of Copenhagen. To fling his coat to Jim; to seize the Eyesore’s landing-net; to stumble down the steps to the river; and to capture the squirming cat, was the work of a moment. Mrs. Poskett had rushed out of her house just in time to meet the Admiral bringing the drenched cat up the steps again. In his open window Basil struck up "See the Conquering Hero Comes," and, while Marjolaine, Jack and Doctor Sternroyd stood petrified in the Gazebo, all the rest of the Walk formed an admiring circle round the Admiral and Mrs. Poskett. "Your cat, Ma’am," said Sir Peter with the simple dignity becoming to the doer of a great deed, as he handed her the struggling and yelling animal. And what do you think she did? She tossed—tossed!—the cat to Jim, and, exclaiming, "My hero! My preserver!" flung her arms round the Admiral’s neck and kissed him on both cheeks. And at that precise moment, while the whole Walk had gone frenzied with excitement, while the Admiral was standing stupefied, only able to ejaculate "Gobblessmysoul!" a great many times in succession; at that precise moment the gaunt Mysterious Lady entered the Walk, followed by her gigantic footman. Mr. Brooke-Hoskyn fled. "’Ware pirate, Admiral!" shouted Jim. All the women, except Mrs. Poskett, who was lying half unconscious in the Admiral’s arms, rushed to their doors, where they stood, watching further developments.