It was a beautiful day. The thick woods on the shore were outlined sharply in the Northern air against the blue sky. Hollis paddled slowly.
“Why do you keep so far behind the other boat?” said Eve, after a while.
“That’s so; I’m just loafing,” answered Hollis.
“Christopher H., paddle right along,” he went on to himself. “You needn’t be so afraid that Paul will grin; he’ll understand.”
And Paul did understand. At the end of half an hour, when Eagle Point was reached, and all had disembarked, he came to Hollis, and stood beside him for a moment.
“This canoe is not one of the best,” Hollis remarked.
“No,” said Paul.
“I think we can make it do for a while longer, though,” Hollis went on, examining it more closely.
“I dare say we can,” Paul answered.
They stood there together for a moment, rapping it and testing it in various ways; then they separated, perfectly understanding each other. “I really didn’t try to come with her:” this was the secret meaning of Hollis’s remark about the canoe.