“Merciful man!” ejaculated Aunt Deborah, intensely interested.  “Go on, Ferdinand.”

“Of course there was a scene of confusion and excitement,” continued Ferdinand, dramatically.  ‘Man overboard!  Who will save him?’ said more than one.  ‘I will,’ I exclaimed, and in an instant I had sprang over the railing into the boiling current.”

“Weren’t you frightened to death?” asked the old lady.  “Could you swim?”

“Of course I could.  More than once I have swum all the way from New York to Brooklyn.  I caught Mr. Clayton by the collar, as he was sinking for the third time, and shouted to a boatman near by to come to my help.  Well, there isn’t much more to tell.  We were taken on board the boat, and rowed to shore.  Mr. Clayton recovered his senses so far as to realize that I had saved his life.

“‘What is your name, young man?’ he asked, grasping my hand.

“‘Ferdinand B. Kensington,’ I answered modestly.

“‘You have saved my life,’ he said warmly.

“‘I am very glad of it,’ said I.

“’You have shown wonderful bravery.”

“‘Oh no,’ I answered.  ’I know how to swim, and I wasn’t going to see you drown before my eyes.’

“‘I shall never cease to be grateful to you.’

“‘Oh, don’t think of it,’ said I.

“‘But I must think of it,’ he answered.  ’But for you I should now be a senseless corpse lying in the bottom of the river,’ and he shuddered.

“‘Mr. Clayton,’ said I, ’let me advise you to get home as soon as possible, or you will catch your death of cold.’

“‘So will you,’ he said.  ‘You must come with me.’

“He insisted, so I went, and was handsomely treated, you may depend.  Mr. Clayton gave me a new suit of clothes, and the next morning he took me to Tiffany’s—­that’s the best jeweller in New York—­and bought me this diamond ring.  He first offered me money, but I felt delicate about taking money for such a service, and told him so.  So he bought me this ring.”

“Well, I declare!” ejaculated Aunt Deborah.

“That was an adventure.  But it seems to me, Ferdinand, I would have taken the money.”

“As to that, aunt, I can sell this ring, if ever I get hard up, but I hope I sha’n’t be obliged to.”

“You certainly behaved very well, Ferdinand.  Do you ever see Mr. Clayton now?”

“Sometimes, but I don’t seek his society, for fear he would think I wanted to get something more out of him.”

“How much money do you think he’d have given you?” asked Aunt Deborah, who was of a practical nature.

“A thousand dollars, perhaps more.”

“Seems to me I would have taken it.”

“If I had, people would have said that’s why I jumped into the water, whereas I wasn’t thinking anything about getting a reward.  So now, aunt, you won’t think it very strange that I wear such an expensive ring.”

“Of course it makes a difference, as you didn’t buy it yourself.  I don’t see how folks can be such fools as to throw away hundreds of dollars for such a trifle.”