"I'm going to take a walk on the beach and think this thing all out," he whispered, taking the slim, half-offered hand in adieu. "Don't go out in the scrub after sun-down. Rattlers move then. Don't go near any swamp; moccasins are the colour of sun-baked mud, and you can't see them. Don't touch any pretty little snake marked scarlet, black, and yellow——"[185]
"How absurd!" she whispered. "As though I were likely to fondle snakes!"
"I'm terribly worried about you," he insisted, retaining her hand.
"Please don't be."
"How can I help it—what with these bungalows full of scorpions and——"
"Yours is, too," she said anxiously. "You will be very careful, won't you?"
"Yes, of course.... I'm—I'm uncertain about you. That's what is troubling me——"
"Please don't bother about me. I've had to look out for myself for years."
"Have you?" he said, almost tenderly. Then he drew a quick, determined breath.
"You'll be careful, won't you?"