At this moment Andrea appeared at the tent opening and announced in his piping child voice: "The canoe is overboard, papa."
[XXX]
Andrea stuck to his big brother like a leech, and insisted upon crossing to The Camp in the same canoe with him and Cecily. To Andrea the possibility of newly engaged persons wishing to be by themselves was negligible. Princess Oducalchi, an old hand on inland waters, took charge of the other canoe, and, like Arthur, in spite of a look of resigned horror on her husband's face, paddled standing up.
Arthur, too happy to make speed, was rapidly distanced by his mother, whose long, graceful figure and charming little, round head he regarded from time to time with great admiration.
"She might be one of my sisters!" he exclaimed to Cecily.
"If she only was," said Cecily, "and the others were only exactly like her, then I shouldn't be a bit frightened."
"Frightened?"
"Wouldn't you be frightened if I had six great angry brothers and you were just going to meet them for the first time?"