“I? Oh, I had a little headache, and I thought I would take a walk in the fresh air.”
“Won’t you join us?” asked Congreve.
“I don’t know,” said Philip, irresolutely.
Harry, supposing his indecision might spring from a dislike to his presence, here spoke up:
“Perhaps you won’t want me any longer, as you have met Philip.”
“Oh, yes I do. He may not care to stay with me all the afternoon, as he has a headache.”
“Probably I shan’t be with you more than half an hour,” said Philip. “I’ll walk a little way into the wood.”
“Come along, then.”
So the three passed into the woods together, Congreve in the middle, with Philip on one side and Harry on the other.
Philip and Congreve engaged in conversation, the latter apparently forgetting that he had a gun on his shoulder. Harry, however, remembered that he was guide to a sportsman, and kept on the lookout for birds.