The girl appeared not to hear; she was looking over her shoulder towards the shore to which she was drifting. Her mind was turning over rapidly what course to adopt. Would it be wiser to take this child off and make friends with him, or to go home and leave the affair to chance? The latter impulse prevailed, solely because she was angry at being stopped in her intention, and the desire to vent her spite was very strong. She would leave him just as he was for the others to find, and they could think what they liked.
She began to row; then stopped, for Hughie spoke again.
"It's awfully silly of you to take the boat, because then everybody knows," he commented. "Come back; what's the good of being an idiot?"
"You are a rude little child," said the Countess angrily. "Now I shall punish you; you shall stay there."
Hughie laughed. Then, to her utter amazement, he made a clean dive from the counter, hands over head, heels up, cutting the water with hardly a splash, and presently came up only a couple of yards astern of the dinghy. Then he shook the water out of his eyes and said blandly:
"I told you you were an idiot--now I think you are a full-sized one. You'd much better have come back when I told you."
He turned over on his back, and splashed mocking heels at her, then started off homeward; and when the Countess pulled the boat inshore he was there first, and, running in, seized the painter.
"Get out, Madam," he requested, "and help pull the boat up; you are too heavy for me to drag, and the tide's coming up pretty fast."
"GET OUT, MADAM."