"But it was odd to swim when your boat was close at hand, was it not?"
I looked, faltered, met her honest glance, and we both broke out into shy laughter. A mad desire to seize the little hand that for a moment had rested on my arm caught hold of me.
"Yes, it was odd," I answered slowly and with difficulty; "but it seemed—the only thing to do at the time."
She laughed a low laugh again.
"Do you generally behave like that?"
"I don't know."
There was a pause and then I added—
"You see, you took me by surprise."
"Where were you when I first called?" she asked.
"Lying in the grass close by."