[102 ADVENTURES OF MR. VERDANT GREEN]

tremendous crab, and before he could recover himself, the "tub"
received a shock, and, with a loud cry of "Boat ahead!" ringing in
his ears, the University Eight passed over the place where he and
"the Sylph" had so lately disported themselves.

With the wind nearly knocked out of his body by the blade of the
bow-oar striking him on the chest as he rose to the surface, our
unfortunate hero was immediately dragged from the water, in a
condition like that of the child in ~The Stranger~ (the only joke, by
the way, in that most dreary play) "not dead, but very wet!" and
forthwith placed in safety in his deliverer's boat.

"Hallo, Giglamps! who the doose had thought of seeing you here,
devouring Isis in this expensive way!" said a voice very coolly. And
our hero found that he had been rescued by little Mr. Bouncer, who
had been tacking up the river in company with Huz and Buz and his
meerschaum. "You ~have~ been and gone and done it now, young man!"
continued the vivacious little gentleman, as he surveyed our hero's
draggled and forlorn condition. "If you'd only a comb and a glass in
your hand, you'd look distressingly like a cross-breed with a
mermaid! You ain't subject to the whatdyecallems - the rheumatics,
are you? Because, if so, I could put you on shore at a tidy little
shop where you can get a glass of brandy-and-water, and have your
clothes dried; and then mamma won't scold."

"Indeed," chattered our hero, "I shall be very glad indeed; for I