Then: “Come on if y’want to,” he answered ungraciously.
As she sat down in the bow of the boat Sidney wanted to cry more than anything else, but Lav’s dark face suddenly reminded her of what Aunt Achsa had told her. Perhaps he had been out in the sand dunes last night, lying on his face, sobbing aloud! She began chattering with resolute cheerfulness.
“Isn’t it hot this morning, Lav? Where are you going?” Lav answered shortly that he was going out to the Arabella. Sidney noticed a book in his pocket, but said nothing. She ventured other remarks concerning the activities in the bay to which Lavender answered in monosyllables, if at all.
“Oh, look, the Puritan’s in, Lav!” And even to this Lavender only grunted: “It’s been in two days!”
By the time they reached the Arabella Sidney’s remorse was yielding to a spark of indignation. Lav needn’t be quite so mad for, after all, it had been his own precious Mr. Dugald who had thrown her and Pola so constantly together! And if Lav had not hidden himself away he most certainly would have been included in all the plans. It was not fair in Lav to act so cross.
“I know you came out to read, Lav, and I’ve some thinking to do, so I’m going up in the bow and leave you quite to yourself,” Sidney said as they boarded the Arabella, and if in her tone there was something of Mart’s tartness, it may be forgiven for Sidney had been punished enough.
“I don’t care if you hang ’round,” Lav conceded. “It’s too hot to read, anyways. I thought maybe there’d be a breeze out here. What’s that?” For he had suddenly spied an object lying on the deck close to the rail as though it had dropped there from someone’s pocket.
At almost the same moment Sidney spied it, too. Both darted for it. Lavender reached it first and picked it up and examined it with frowning eyes.
“It’s a knife!” cried Sidney, at his elbow.
“Sure it’s a knife. Anybody can see that. What I want to know—”