The suggestion seemed a sound one, so I accepted it without protest. Whoever my hostess might be, she was certainly not lacking in self-possession, and I felt sure that if she had wanted any help she would have asked for it.
Selecting a comfortable place, I spread myself out on the grass, and Rufus, who had apparently been on a short tour of inspection, came up sideways and licked my boot.
"Rufus," I said, "we have struck a remarkable adventure."
He lay down and looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
"We have discovered a mermaid, a sea-dryad, an island goddess," I went on. "In fact, I'm not at all sure that we haven't found Astarte herself."
He rolled slowly over on his back and pointed all four feet towards the sky.
"I'm glad to see," said I, "that you have a sense of reverence."
It was at this point that, heavily burdened with accessories, the goddess emerged from her retreat.
"I'm afraid it's a poor sort of tea," she said, as I jumped up to help her unload. "Do you mind a mug and condensed milk? They're all I've got to offer you."
"On a desert island," I said, "both a cup and a cow would be painfully out of place."