"Like most Edens, you would find there was a snake in it," said she, laughing.
"Might I ask whether you mean anything particular by that remark?"
"What makes you ask?"
"I fancied there was a hidden meaning in it, somehow."
"My dear boy, your penetration is fast becoming a thing to dread. Yes, if you will have it, there was a special meaning. I looked at the visitors' list this morning, and saw, among the arrivals——"
She paused. They were just in shore. The young man shipped his sculls, leaned his arms on his knees, and faced her steadily.
"Well—who were among the arrivals?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Percivale," she answered, rising. He sprang up to help her to land.
"What a mercy all that folly is over and done with," he said; and laughed, the harsh and dreary laugh proving the falsity of his words as he uttered them.
Turning to the boat he collected her wraps, paid the boatman, and then turned absently towards the town.