"Then, you did not get a jolt?"
"Not at all," said Barbara. "To keep behind and meet you after I'd sent Lister off would not have bothered me. However, I was curious, although I think I knew the line he'd take. You see, for an unsophisticated young man, the situation was awkward."
"If he felt it awkward, it indicated he knew he ought not to have taken you on board his boat."
"You're horribly logical," Barbara rejoined with a twinkle. "When we started he didn't know I ought not to have gone. Mr. Lister is not like you; he's very obvious. Of course, I did know, but I went!"
"I wonder why!" said Cartwright dryly.
"Sometimes you're keen, but you didn't remark, I meant to give you a lead. Well, I didn't go altogether because I wanted to enjoy Mr. Lister's society. To see a cattle boat was something fresh and I was dull."
"Then, when did Lister see a light? Since he stopped me, it's plain he'd got some illumination."
"I think it was when the engineer and the girl Robertson is going to marry began to talk about house furnishings in the Ardrigh's mess-room. They took it for granted Lister was my lover and he was horribly embarrassed. The thing really was humorous."
"Folks have hinted I'm getting a back-number," Cartwright remarked. "To talk to a modern girl makes me feel I am out-of-date."
"Grace is not modern and to talk to her makes you tired," Barbara rejoined. "But I'll tell you about the tea-party in the mess-room if you like."