Rosalind looked up from the book and shook her head.
"Billy didn't make a fool out of me," she said.
The ex-boatman blinked.
"You see, I knew him from the first," she added. "In fact, I've known him a good while. But—although perhaps it wasn't very considerate of the others—I didn't say anything because— Well, for the same reason that Mr. Morton gave. It hardly seemed sporting."
Billy bit his tongue savagely; but he could not hide the little wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
"What's she up to now?" he thought.
"So I just let the joke go on. If it was wrong, I'm sorry," concluded Rosalind.
"And you mean that you two have known each other all the time?" cried Polly, staring from one to the other.
"All the time," confirmed Billy. "Why, I've known Rosalind since she was a tomboy and—and climbed trees."
Rosalind flushed, but she nodded what was interpreted as a confirmation.