Surely not. Suddenly I thought of Tommy and took a deep breath of the sweet woodland air, for I had found what I had wanted.
Resignation—it was a sacrilege to use the word on such a day.
Yes, I thought, there is no doubt that the instinctive philosophy of boyhood is the true rule of life, as indeed one ought to have suspected long ago.
To enjoy the present with all the capacity of every sense, to regard the past with comparative indifference, since it is irrevocable, and the future with a healthy abandonment, since it is unknown, and to leave the sorrows of introspection to those who know no better—avaunt with your resignation. And even as I said it I saw the reeds by the pool quiver and a pair of brown eyes twinkle joyously at me from their midst.
"Hello, Tommy!" I cried.
He emerged, clad only in an inconspicuous triangular garment about his waist.
"I've been watching you ever so long," he said triumphantly.
"Been bathing?" I asked.
"Rather. It's jolly fine and not a bit cold. I say, you should have seen the old boy potting rats."