"I haven't been away."
"What!"
William Kissam Kellogg smiled benignantly at his uncle.
"But how—what—where—"
Mr. Davidson paused to recover his breath. The glance of the ex-boatman wandered to other members of the party.
"Hello, Polly!" he said.
Polly was speechless—unable to answer the salutation. She gazed upon Kellogg as she would at some supernatural thing.
"There seems to be a great deal of fuss about nothing in particular," he remarked. "What's up?"
"Up!" repeated Mr. Davidson. "Everything's up! You're alive!"
"I hope so."