“You’re sure it’s far enough off?” he asked ironically, adding at once: “Yes, you might go there, if we could get a boat. They seem to be all out.”
He looked round the lake and counted the rowing boats on its surface.
“How lovely it would be!” cried Ursula wistfully.
“And don’t you want tea?” he said.
“Oh,” said Gudrun, “we could just drink a cup, and be off.”
He looked from one to the other, smiling. He was somewhat offended—yet sporting.
“Can you manage a boat pretty well?” he asked.
“Yes,” replied Gudrun, coldly, “pretty well.”
“Oh yes,” cried Ursula. “We can both of us row like water-spiders.”
“You can? There’s a light little canoe of mine, that I didn’t take out for fear somebody should drown themselves. Do you think you’d be safe in that?”