"You young rabbits," he laughed. "I had just about given you up. Thought I wasn't coming, I suppose."
Decisive nods from both black heads.
"Well, we'll make a start on that. Remember that I never break a promise, and I want you to do the same. The boy who makes up his mind that he'll never break his word is half a brave man."
They stared up at him with wide eyes, and whether they understood it he did not know. But he knew better than to say more just then.
"Now--why----?" And he looked from one to the other and then began to laugh. "Which of you is Jack and which is Jim? I was to remember Jack by a bump on the forehead, and now you've both got bumps. Been fighting again?"
Gleaming nods from both boys.
"We must find you something better to do. I've been seeing your grandfather, and he says I may teach you to swim."
Squirms of anticipation in the active brown bodies, and glances past him at the distant sea.
"No, not to-day. It's too late now, but it was worth spending the morning on. We'll make a start to-morrow. Can you be here at eight o'clock?"
Their energetic heads intimated that they could be there very much before eight if desired.