misadventure to the influence of the poet's verses. If he had not read
"The Bell" that night, he would not have mistaken for a shark the urchin
that swam under him, for it was not the first time that mischievous boys
had amused themselves by plunging under the professor's broad shoulders;
but he had never been frightened before, while to-day this poetic
recollection nearly cost him his life.

Fortunately Mr. Liakos was taking his bath near by, and when he saw the
professor disappear in that extraordinary fashion, and the circles
widening on the surface, he at once understood what had happened.
Swimming rapidly to the spot, he dived down, managed to grasp the
drowning man, dragged him to the surface, and brought him ashore
unconscious. Thanks to these prompt measures, Mr. Plateas came to
himself,--with great difficulty, it is true, but he finally did come to
himself; and there on the shore of the sea he made a double vow: never
again to go into the water, and never to forget that he owed his life to
Mr. Liakos.

This vow he kept faithfully. Indeed, so far as his preserver was
concerned, it was kept with such exaggeration, that while the judge did
not repent saving the professor's life, he often found himself
regretting that some one else had not been at hand to earn all this
embarrassing gratitude. Everywhere Mr. Plateas boasted of the merits of
his preserver; the whole island resounded with his praise; each time
they met,--and they met several times a day,--he rushed toward the judge
enthusiastically and lost no chance to proclaim that henceforth his only
desire was to prove his words by his deeds. "My life belongs to you," he
would say; "I have consecrated it to you."

In vain the judge protested, and urged that the matter was not so