'Don't bother. Aren't they cooeying for us?'
'Answer me.'
'I do believe that was a water-rat. Look! the water is still eddying.'
'I'm a very wicked, blasphemous boy. Isn't that the thought deep down in your heart of hearts?'
'You are there, too,' she breathed at last, and then Sidney forgot her beauty for an instant, and lost himself in unaccustomed humility. It seemed passing wonderful to him—that he should be the deity of such a spotless shrine. Could any man deserve the trust of this celestial soul?
Suddenly the thought that he had not told her about Miss Hannibal, after all, gave him a chilling shock. But he rallied quickly. Was it really worth while to trouble the clear depths of her spirit with his turbid past? No; wiser to inhale the odour of the rose at her bosom, sweeter to surrender himself to the intoxicating perfume of her personality, to the magic of a moment that must fade like the sunset, already grown grey.
So Addie never knew.