up."

"Who is he? How did he get there, and what is he doing?" asked
Mark, greatly excited.

"Who he is, and how he got there, are more than I know," answered
"Captain Li." "What he is doing, is waiting to be taken off. The
men on the tug sighted him just before you came on deck, and sung
out to me to send a boat for him. It's a mercy we didn't come
along an hour sooner, or we never would have seen him through the
mist."

"You mean we would have missed him," said Mark, who, even upon so
serious an occasion, could not resist the temptation to make a
pun.

By this time the boat had rescued the man from his unpleasant
position, and was returning with him on board. Before it reached
the schooner Mark rushed down into the cabin and called to his
parents and Ruth to hurry on deck. As they were already up and
nearly dressed, they did so, and reached it in time to see the
stranger helped from the boat and up the side of the vessel.

He was so exhausted that he was taken into the cabin, rolled in
warm blankets, and given restoratives and hot drinks before he was
questioned in regard to his adventure.

Meantime the schooner was again slipping rapidly down the broad
river, and Mark, who remained on deck with his father, questioned
him about the "river's breath," as he called the clouds of steam