The Brother of Daphne Read online

  CHAPTER II

  CLOTHES AND THE MAN

  "This," said Berry, "is all right. By which I mean--"

  We assured him we knew what he meant, and that no explanation wasnecessary.

  "All right," he said at last. "There. I've said it again now. You'requite sure you do know what I mean? Because, if you've the leasthesitation--"

  "Will you be quiet?" said Daphne.

  "Alright."

  It was a beautiful August morning. After a roaring season in town, wehad, all five--Berry, Daphne, Jonah, Jill, and myself--girded our jadedloins, packed, crawled into the car, and rolled down to Cornwall, thereto build up the wasted tissues, go to bed at ten, and forget that therewere such things as theatres and ballrooms.

  We took a couple of days coming down by road, and our run was notwithout incident.

  I wish cyclists would not hang on behind.

  In Kingston a monger's boy, with some fish that were patently feelingthe heat, took hold of the cape-hood. I spoke with him after a little.

  "The use of this hood," I said, "for heavy and bulky packages involvesrisk of injury to passengers, and is prohibited. Didn't you know that?"

  He regarded me with a seraphic smile, nearly lost his life by gettinginto a tram-line, and said I ought to know better than to talk to theman at the wheel.

  "Friend," said I, "I perceive you are a humorist. Lo, here in this carare already three humorists. Under these unfortunate circumstances, Ihave no alternative but to ask you to withdraw."

  It was just then that the near hind tyre burst exactly under him.

  We gave him half a sovereign towards buying a new bicycle, but Ibelieve he will always think we did it on purpose.

  It had been arranged that we should spend the night at Salisbury andpush on to Cornwall on the following day. We made the Cathedral citysoon after five and slipped out to see Stonehenge. There were a fewother people there, and one or two of them turned to watch our arrival.Berry left the car and went straight to the nearest--a fat tradesman,wearing a new imitation panama and a huge calabash.

  "Can you tell me if this is Stoke Poges?" we heard him say. The restof us alighted and walked hurriedly away in the opposite direction.Clearly my brother-in-law was in a certain mood and no fit companionfor the sensitive. Memories of the unutterable torment, to which onlike occasions we had been mercilessly subjected, by reason of Berry'smost shameless behaviour among strangers, rose up before us. The factthat he called after us caused Daphne to break into a run.

  Our luck was out. When we had completed the circle of the cromlechs,we came suddenly upon him. More to our dismay than surprise he hadbecome the centre of a little knot of excursionists, who were listeningto him eagerly. As we appeared:

  "Ah," he said to the interested company, "here is my Aunt! She'll tellyou. Aunt Daphne, wasn't it here that father lost the string bag?"

  "Wretched fool!" said Daphne under her breath, turning hurriedly in thedirection of the car.

  Berry watched her retreat, and turned to his listeners with a sigh.

  "I'm afraid I've gone and upset her now," he said. "I oughtn't to havereminded her of the untoward incident. It was the only string bag theyhad, and it was an awful blow to her. It upset him, too, terribly.Never the same man again. In fact, from that day he began to gowrong--criminally, I mean."

  The little group grew closer to him than ever. Like a fool, I stayedto hear more.

  "Yes," Berry went on, "in less than a month he was up at the OldBailey, under the Merchandise Marks Act, for selling Gruyere cheesewith too big holes in it. Five years his sentence was. Let's see, heought to be coming out in about--oh, about--When does father come out,Cousin Albert?"

  The excursionists gazed greedily at me--the felon's son. I approachedBerry and laid a hand upon his arm. Then I turned to the little group.

  "This fellow," I said, "has got us into trouble before. Those of youwho have motor-cars will understand me when I refer to the greatdifficulty of securing a really trustworthy chauffeur. Now, this manis honest and a most careful driver, but when he is, so to speak, offduty, he is so unfortunate as to suffer from delusions, usuallyconnected with crime and the administration of the criminal law. Whilewe were having lunch at Whitchurch only this afternoon, he went off tothe police-station and tried to give himself up for the Hounslowmurder, didn't you?"

  "Yes, sir," faltered Berry.

  "And all the time," I went on, "I'm not at all satisfied myself that hedid murder the woman, although things certainly looked rather black--"

  "I did!" said Berry fiercely.

  The crowd of excursionists recoiled, and a small boy in a green flannelblazer burst into tears.

  "Any way," I said, "there isn't anything like enough evidence againstyou, so we won't argue it. Now, then, we want to be going. Comealong."

  "Half a shake, sir," said Berry, feeling in his pockets. "You knowthat knife--"

  The company began nervously to disperse. Some exhorted one another toobserve some feature of the cromlechs which was only visible from somepoint of vantage on the side other to that on which we stood. Othersagreed that they had no idea that it was so late, and the fat tradesmangave a forced shiver and announced that he must have left his coatbehind "that big one."

  "I'll get it for you, sir," said Berry, opening his knife.

  I was forced to admit that Stonehenge looked far more impressive whenapparently deserted, than with one or two tourists, however genial andguileless, in a high holiday humour in the foreground. At the sametime, as we walked back to the car, I felt that I owed it to myself tolodge a grave protest against the indecent and involving methods mybrother-in-law had seen fit to employ.

  "After all," I concluded, "the fellow's your brother, and even if hispanama wasn't a real one, that's no reason why he should be made to dothe hundred in about twelve seconds. He wasn't in strict trainingeither. You could see that. Besides, why rope me in? For yourself,if you must play the comic idiot--"

  "He wasn't in the picture," said Berry. "None of them were. Thatkid's blazer absolutely killed the grass for miles around. Didn't yousee how brown it had gone? That," he added coolly, "is the worst ofhaving an artistic eye. One must pay for these things."

  After spending the night at Salisbury, we pushed on to the Cornishcoast. It was not until we were within three miles of our village thatwe lost the way. When we found it again, we were seven miles off.That is the worst of a car. However.

  Stern is a place, where the coast-line is a great glory. The cliffsrise there, tall, dark, majestic-grave, too, especially grave. Whenthe sky is grey, they frown always, and even the warm rays of thesetting sun but serve to light their grand solemnity. Very differentis the changing sea at their foot. At times it will ripple all day,agog with smiling; anon, provoked by an idle breeze's banter, you shallsee it black with rage. In the morning, maybe, it will sleep placidlyenough in the sunshine, but at eventide the wind has ruffled itstemper, so that it mutters and heaves with anger, breathing forththreatenings. Yet the next dawn finds it alive with mischievousmerriment and splitting its sides with laughter, to think how it hasduped you the night before. The great grave cliffs and the shiftingsea, and, beyond, woodland and pastures and deep meadows, where thecows low in the evenings, while the elms tower above them, their leavesunshaken by the wind--it is not difficult to grow fond of Stern.

  And now we were sitting on the cliffs in the heat of the morning sun,half a mile from the village and another from the places where it wasbest to bathe.

  After a while:

  "Aren't you glad I made you come here?" said Daphne triumphantly.

  I sat up and stared at her sorrowfully.

  "Well?" she said defiantly.

  "You have taken my breath away," I said, "Kindly return it, and I willdeal with you and your interrogatories."

  "I suppose you're going to say it was you--"

  "It was. I did. I have. But for me you would not. You are. I tookthe r
ooms. I drove the car nearly the whole way down. I got you allhere. I sent the luggage on in advance."

  "With the result that it got here two days after we did, and I had towear the same tie three days running, and go down to bathe inpatent-leather boots, thanks very much," said Berry.

  Beyond saying that I was not responsible for the crass and purblindidiocy of railway officials, I ignored this expression of ingratitudeand continued to deal with Daphne.

  "You know," I said, "there are times when I tremble for you. Onlyyesterday, just before dinner, I trembled for you like anything."

  "It's the heat," said my target, as if explaining something.

  "And my reward is covert reflections upon my sanity. Need I say more?"

  "No," said everybody.

  "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your kind attention. The nextperformance will be at four o'clock this afternoon, underneath thepromenade pier."

  I relapsed into comfortable silence and sank back into the bracken. Mysister got up from the clump of heather in which she was ensconced,crossed to where I was, took my pipe out of my mouth and kissed me.

  "Sorry, old boy," she said; "you're not such a bad sort, really."

  "Dear love," said I, "what have you left behind?"

  "My bathing-dress, darling."

  In spite of the fact that I returned to the hotel and got it, they werepositively rude about the bathing-cove I selected.

  "Bathe there?" sneered Berry, as we looked down upon it, all smiling inthe sun, from the top of the cliffs.

  "Thanks awfully, I simply love the flints, don't you, Jill?Personally, my doctor bled me just before I came away. But don't letme stop you others. Lead on, brother--lead the way to the shambles!"

  Of course, Daphne took up the running.

  "My dear boy, look at the seaweed on the rocks! Why, we should slipand break our legs before we'd taken two steps!"

  "That's all right," said Berry. "We have between us three shirts.Torn into strips, they will make excellent bandages, while for asplint--"

  "The cove," I said, "is ideal. Its sand is a field of lilies, its seaperfumed, its boulders sweet-smelling cushions."

  "Of course," said Berry. "Why do you tarry? Forward, friends all!This way to the drug department. To the lions, O Christians! Formyself, if I start at once, I shall be able to get back with thecoastguard's ambulance before you've been lying there more than an houror two, and I can wire for your relatives at the same time."

  "Anybody would think the place was an oubliette," said I. "As a matterof fact, the path down is an easy one, there are no flints, and thereis a singular paucity of seaweed of any description. On the otherhand, the sun is hot, the sand is soft, and I have already selectedthat rock, in the seclusion of whose shade I shall prepare myself forthe waves. Sorry it's too dangerous for you. I'll write about somebathing-machines to-night. Do you like them with red or green doors?"

  Without waiting for their reply, which would probably have been of thecaustic and provocative type, I turned down the path I had not troddenfor some three years. At one of the bends I looked up and saw themmoving north along the coast-line.

  I had the cove to myself, and was soon in my bathing-dress. The waterwas magnificent. I swam out about forty yards, and turned just in timeto see Berry & Co. disappear in the distance, apparently descendinginto a neighbouring cove. After a rest on a rock, I set out to swimround and join them. It was further than I thought, and I was glad towade out of the water and lie down on the sand in the sun. No sign ofthe others, by the way. But hereabouts the coast was very ragged. Itmust have been the next cove they were making for.

  "Quite still, please," said somebody, and the next moment a cameraclicked.

  "You might have given me time to moisten the lips," said I.

  "I doubt if it would have done any good."

  "Thanks, very much. By the way, I suppose you're The Daily Glass? Howdid you find me out?"

  "Rumour travels apace, sir."

  "And I had been congratulating myself on eluding the Press sincebreakfast. Well, well! Only this morning--"

  "Dry up!"

  I apostrophized the sea.

  "I don't want to have to report the chap," I said, "but if--"

  The camera clicked again.

  "I'm not sure this isn't an assault," I said. "That it is a trespass, Iknow. Who are your solicitors? And may I take it that they willaccept service?" (Here I rolled over and leaned on my elbow.) "You dolook fit. Just move your heel out of that pool--there's an anemonegoing to mistake it for a piece of alabaster. That's right! Oh, but,Mermaid, do tell me how you keep your hair so nice when you're bathing?"

  "Like it?"

  "I love it."

  "I simply don't put my head under."

  "A most dangerous practice, believe me."

  "It's worth the risk."

  "I belive it is."

  She was sitting on a low slab of rock, clad in a bathing-costume ofplain dark blue, and fashioned just like my own. Her dark hair wasparted in the middle and divided at the back into two long, thickplaits which were turned up and hair-pinned round the top of her head.Her features were beautiful and her eyes big and dark as her hair. Herfigure was slim and graceful, and her arms and hands and feet were veryshapely. One brown knee was crossed over the other, and her left handheld the camera.

  "I do have luck, you know," I said.

  "What luck?"

  "Well, honestly, it's a great pleasure to meet you like this, when Imight have spent all day talking with my silly crowd and never haveknown of your existence. Don't be afraid. I merely mean that I amenjoying your society, and I'm glad I came round the corner. I'm notin love with you, and I don't want never to leave your side again,but--oh, you understand, Mermaid, don't you? You look as if you couldif you liked."

  My companion stared out to sea with a faint smile on her lips. I flungout an arm with a gesture of despair.

  "Oh, if you knew how sick I am of the girl about town, the girl ofto-day, who won't be natural herself, and won't let you be naturaleither, who is always bored, and who has no use for anyone who isn'tforever making mock love to her, or--Why on earth can't a man tell awoman he likes her company, and mean it, without the woman thinking hewants to kiss her, or marry her, or something?"

  I broke off and looked at her.

  "Go on," she said. "You interest me."

  "Oh, Heavens," I said falteringly. "Why have you got such big eyes?"

  At this, to my discomfiture, she broke into peals of merriment.

  "Before you looked at me like that, I was really enjoying your companywithout wanting to kiss you."

  "Steady!"

  "Besides your eyes, there's your--Look here, it isn't fair."

  "That'll do. I'll race you to that rock out there."

  She was in the water first, but I beat her easily. We swam backtogether, and she took her seat on the slab, while I stretched myselfon the sand by her side.

  "You're a very singular man," she said after a while.

  "I have been told so of many."

  "And rather dull."

  I sat up.

  "Don't say you want me to make love to you!"

  "Not much!" This emphatically.

  "Ah, glad of a change, I suppose."

  There was a silence, while she eyed me suspiciously. At length:

  "I shall ask you to leave my cove if you're not careful," she said.

  "Mermaid," I said, "I apologize. I was unaware that I had the honourto speak to the lady of the manor."

  "Well, if you didn't really know who I was---- But you mustn't bedull."

  I drew her attention to a sailing ship in the distance. "Now, that," Isaid, "is what I call a really good ship."

  "Barque!"

  "Barque, I mean. It must be--"

  "About five thousand tons"

  "Burthen. Exactly. By the way, I never know what that really meansunless it means that, if you wanted to lift it, you couldn'
t."

  "Try displacement."

  "Thank you. It was off just such an one that I was cast away two yearsago come Michaelmas. We were just standing by in the offing, when shesterruck with a grinding crash. There was a matter of seventy soulsaboard, and I shall never forget the look on the captain's face as theship's cat stole his place in the stern-sheets of the jolly-boat. Iwas thrown up on a desert island, I was. You ought to have seen memilking the goats on Spyglass Hill."

  "Did you wear a goatskin cap?"

  "Did I not! And two muskets. But my snake belt was the great thing.You see--"

  "Which reminds me--I think it's about time I got civilized again."

  "Not yet, Mermaid," I pleaded; "the sun is yet high."

  "You don't suppose I'm going to stay here all day, do you? We're noton your precious island now."

  "I only wish we were. I had my loaf of bread and jug of wine allright, but the one thing I wanted, Mermaid, was--"

  "A woman to keep him company without thinking he wanted to kiss her, ormarry her, or something. Whatever's that?"

  I jumped to my feet and looked towards where she was pointing.

  "It looks rather like--forgive me--a chemise."

  "Good Heavens!"

  Before I had time to move, she rushed into the surf and secured thefloating garment, made another dart at something else, and was knockeddown by a roller. I had her on her feet in a moment, but she dashedthe water out of her eves and looked wildly to and fro over the sea.

  "What is it, Mermaid?"

  She tried to stamp her foot; but the four inches of water in which shewas standing were against her.

  "Can't you see, idiot? This is mine--this chemise--so's this shoe.The tide's come up into my cave while I've been making a fool of myselftalking to you, and all my things are gone. There's the other shoe."

  "All right--I'll get it."

  I got it, and one stocking, but though I swam about till I was tired,and even climbed on to the rock, now almost submerged, to which we hadraced, I could see nothing else. I returned temporarily exhausted tothe cove. She waded out to meet me.

  "Tell me exactly where your cave is," I said, as I handed her theflotsam.

  She showed me, and, after a moment or two's rest, I swam out and roundto the mouth, only to find the water too high to enter. I did try, buta wave lifted me up to the roof, and I only saved a broken head at theexpense of a nasty cut on the back of my hand.

  She was anxiously awaiting me, and listened to my report without aword. When I had finished, she deliberately wrung the last atom ofwater out of the derelict stocking, smoothed it out carefully by theside of the chemise in the sun, laid herself down on the sand, andburst into tears.

  I tried to comfort her. I patted her shoulder and took her hand inmine.

  "Don't worry, Mermaid dear," I said. "Trust me--I'll think ofsomething. I know. I'll swim round to my cove and dress, and then goand get you some fresh clothes before anyone's the wiser. See? I'llgo now," I added, getting up and licking the blood off my hand. "Youwait here and--"

  I broke off abruptly, and one of the more violent expletives,indicative of combined horror and amazement, escaped my lips before Icould stop it.

  "What is it?" wailed the Mermaid.

  On the crest of a wave, some thirty yards from the shore, danced mygrey hat. Beyond it, a little to the right, was something which mightbe a shirt.

  Stammering incoherent sentences, I staggered into the water and swamfor the hat. When I had caught it, I went on to get the shirt. Iwould have gone on round the headland to my cove, only the shirt wasnot my shirt. It was Berry's! Yes, it was--had his name on it andall. And not ten yards away floated Daphne's straw hat. For the nexttwo minutes I was in imminent danger of drowning. At last I began toswim feebly, blindly back. When I reached the shore, I fell on myknees in the surf and laughed till the eighth wave knocked me head overheels and the ninth broke into my open jaws and choked me. The nextmoment the girl caught me by the arm, and I stumbled out and lay downon the dry sand with the shirt clasped to my breast. My hat had goneagain ages ago. Then I looked at the girl kneeling anxiously by myside, and began to laugh again. She sat back on her heels, with onehand to her lips and a scared expression on her face.

  "He's mad," she said, half to herself, "mad! Must have been stung by ajelly-fish or something. I've heard--"

  I cut her short.

  "Mermaid dear, I'm as sane as you are, only--"

  "Only what?"

  "Everybody's doing it"--she recoiled--"doing it! Listen to me. True,that is your chemise. True, that out there is my hat--there it is.But here is Berry's shirt, and miles out there is Daphne's straw hat.If I'd stayed long enough, I've no doubt I should have seen Jonah'strousers and Jill's chemisette, which means or mean--whichever youlike--that...."

  Hurriedly I explained, and then fell again into uproarious laughter.This time she joined me in my mirth. At length:

  "But, after all," she said, "it doesn't make it any better for me,because I'm all alone, while you're a party."

  "I admit it has been said that Unity is Strength," said I, "but I don'tknow that that exactly applies--"

  "And I can't walk home like this, even with that on." She indicatedthe chemise.

  "Certainly not with that on: it'd only make it more indec--"

  "More what?"

  "Er--unusual. Indeed, it would."

  She regarded me suspiciously. Then:

  "What about you?"

  "Me? How d'you mean?" I said uneasily.

  "Well, couldn't you slip back to the hotel somehow? Quite quietly, Imean, and--"

  "I could slip all right," said I. "The short grass on the top of thecliffs would help me there. But, my dear girl, how on earth can I doanything quietly in this dress?"

  "Everybody will be--"

  "Just finishing lunch or sitting on the terrace. Thanks very much."

  "There's a back door."

  "I never thought of that. Splendid! Leading to the kitchen, ofcourse. They'd never notice me there. And I could just drop in at theoffice for the key of my room, and see if there were any letters on theway up, and---- My dear girl, how can I? I admit I've a good deal ofnerve, but there is a limit. I know one can do most things nowadays,but--"

  "But this is a special occasion."

  "You seem to want to make it one."

  "And it can't be helped. This sort of modesty's out of date."

  "Not my date."

  "Besides, everybody'd understand."

  "I know they would. That's just what I'm afraid of."

  "Well, we must do something, and if you--"

  Suddenly there fell upon our ears the scrambling, clattering noisewhich invariably accompanies the descent of anybody rash enough toenter a Cornish cove with undue haste in leather-soled shoes. TheMermaid darted behind a rock, and I advanced gratefully up theforeshore to the fringe of stones. The noise grew louder, and theslips more frequent, until there was one long one, and then a thud. Uprose a fat oath. After a moment or two, there limped into sight--oh,blessed spectacle!--one of the hotel porters, conventionally hatlessand coatless.

  "Ah!" said I.

  "The coastguard you sent hailed me, sir, across the fields yonder.Said something had happened--he didn't know what--but he heard the word'hotel.' You see, you shouting to him from here, and he being up ontop, he couldn't hear anything else rightly, so I came straight down."

  "Why didn't he come down himself when--er--when I shouted?"

  "He was taking a telegram to the post office sir. Said he told you so;but I suppose you didn't hear."

  Berry's coastguard. Berry's porter.

  I told him that my clothes had been washed away, and that the mermaidwas in the same plight. I gave him implicit instructions and, with herassistance, the numbers of our respective rooms. He wrote it all down.He was to get some clothes for me himself, and enlist the services of achambermaid for my companion.

  "Be as
quick as you can," I said, as he turned to go. "You're sureyou'll know this cove again? They're all rather alike."

  "That's all right, sir."

  The next moment he was half-way up the path. If he had looked back, hewould have beheld the singular and doubtless pleasing spectacle of theMermaid and myself doing the real Argentine tango along the stretch ofyellow sand.

  She did not see the blood on my hand for a minute or two. Then:

  "My dear lad, what have you done to your hand?"

  "Cut on the rocks," I said laconically. "Nothing of any consequence, Iassure you. I shall be able to proceed home."

  "After attention. Let me look at it."

  And so it came about that, when the boots returned, my left hand wasbound up with a strip of chemise, and the bandage was tied with thepale-pink ribbon that had lately lain upon the Mermaid's shoulder.

  We received him delightedly. The Mermaid's garments had been placed bythe thoughtful chambermaid in a little dressing-case. Mine were tiedtogether with a piece of string, after the manner of costumes atNathan's. But they were all right.

  The girl started to dress behind a rock, and I told the fellow to waitat the foot of the path. "I have reason," I said, "reason to believethat there are others even now in the same or self-same plight as thatin which you found us. Therefore remain within call. Don'tinvestigate for yourself. This is my show. But don't go."

  He promised.

  Half an hour later he was once more on his way to the hotel with a notefrom me for Daphne's maid, and the promise of half a sovereign, whilethe Mermaid and I stood at the top of the path which led down to thecove where the rest of my party were chafing in exasperatedidleness--with the exception of Berry, that is. Prior to our arrival,he had been hovering about on the top of the cliff, but the instant hedescried us, and while we were yet a great way off, he had retiredprecipitately, and was now busy rejoining the others with Agag's walkand a profusion of embryo profanity. He explained afterwards that ifhe had been wearing his own bathing-dress, instead of a green and redstriped one--his own was being mended--he should have remained, butthat he did not like to be seen wearing the colours of the RedruthRangers before he had been elected.

  After waiting a minute or two to compose ourselves and settle finallyour plan of action, we followed gaily in Berry's wake.

  I was just saying in a clear voice that, perhaps, it was rather soonafter lunch to bathe again, when we came upon them the other side of alarge rock. One and all they sprawled easily on the sand in the hotsunshine, as if care were a thing of the past--forgotten, never known.

  This was no more than I had expected of them. All of us hate to becaught bending. Berry especially. That artist was busily fashioning aminiature rampart of sand. He looked up at my greeting, and rose tohis feet.

  I introduced them all to the Mermaid.

  "We made friends at lunch," I explained, "over the lobsters."

  Jonah winced.

  "And then, as we wanted a walk, we thought we'd come along to fetch youback to tea."

  There was a polite murmur of appreciation.

  "I must say," I went on, "it is glorious. I almost wish I'd given upmy lunch, too."

  The Mermaid stiffened, but none of the others noticed the error.

  I felt myself colouring like a fool.

  "Aren't you going to bathe again?" said Berry.

  There was the note of eagerness in his voice, and I saw a vision ofBerry in my clothes striding triumphantly homewards.

  "I don't think so," I said carelessly. "Rather too soon after lunch.But I'm going to take off my coat and sit down in the sun."

  After all, he couldn't do much with a coat.

  The Mermaid was already seated between Daphne and Jill, talkingvivaciously. Jonah pretended to be asleep. After a furtive glance atthe top of the cliff, Berry resumed his building operations with awfuldeliberation.

  After a while:

  "Well, if you aren't going to bathe any more, aren't you going todress?" said I.

  "And leave this beauty spot?" said Berry. "Shame, shame on you,brother! Go your ways if you will. 'Then wander forth the sons ofBelial.' You'll just be in time. But leave us here in peace. I havealmost evolved a post-futurist picture which will revolutionize theartistic world. I shall call it 'The Passing of a Bathe: a Fantasy.It will present to the minds of all who have not seen it, what theywould have rejected for lunch if they had. To get the true effect, noone must see it."

  "But if some one does?"

  "I shall have already left the country."

  This was too much for Daphne, and she asked Jonah to come and help herto get some mussels. They walked away together.

  "What on earth does she want mussels for?" said I.

  "The garden paths," said Berry. "Our cobbles aren't wearing at allwell."

  I turned to the Mermaid. She was chattering away to Jill, with herback towards me. Over her shoulder, Jill's grey eyes regarded mewistfully. I made a rapid calculation. Yes, the porter ought to havearrived by now. I had told him to keep out of sight till I called him.

  I waited until Daphne and Jonah came strolling back empty-handed. Theyhad forgotten about the mussels. Daphne's brows were knitted, andJonah was looking ruefully at the sun. It was getting on for half-pastthree. One could guess that much.

  I rose and picked up my coat. "I say, aren't you ever going to dressany more?" I said.

  Daphne swallowed before replying, and with the tail of my eye I sawBerry start and wreck six inches of architecture. Then:

  "Presently," said my big sister. "You two go on and order a big tea atthe farm, and by the time it's ready--"

  "You can't have tea like that," I said. "There'll be a row."

  In the dead silence that followed this remark, the Mermaid rose andbrushed the sand from her dress.

  I went up to Daphne and kissed her.

  "Don't think I'm not proud of you, darling, and Jill looks lovely, too,but they wouldn't stand it, you know."

  No one stirred except the Mermaid, and she, obedient to theinstructions I had given her, strolled naturally enough towards thepath up the cliff. The other four were looking at me straitly--I couldfeel their gaze--wondering whether, whether I knew.

  I shaded my eyes with my hand and stared seawards.

  "Do dress," I said absently.

  "We shall dress when we want to," said Daphne sharply.

  I turned to see the Mermaiden reach the path. A good start iseverything.

  "If you really mean that," I said slowly, "I'll send your otherclothes back again." Then I raised my voice:

  "Porter!" I cried.

  "Sir!" came from above us.

  "Behold, now--"

  I let the rest of the quotation go, as I wanted to rejoin the mermaid,looking as she had last seen me. Berry said afterwards that Jonahgained on me while the sand lasted, but the loose stones at the foot ofthe path were my salvation.

  As I passed the porter, I told him to say that a square meal would beawaiting them at the farm. We ordered it generously enough, but,despite our hunger, the Mermaid and I decided to have our own tea atthe hotel. Thither we set out to walk through the fields. Suddenlyshe stopped as we were crossing a deep lane.

  "I don't know why you're here," she said.

  "Try and think, Mermaid."

  "You'd better go and have another bathe."

  "Now, Mermaid, you know--"

  "Afterwards you'll be wishing you had given up your tea, if you don't."

  "I knew we should have this," I said.

  "Well, it wasn't very polite of you, was it?"

  "It wouldn't have been."

  "She eyed me scornfully for a moment. Then:

  "I'm disappointed in you," she said.

  "You'll be more so in a moment," said I.

  "Why?"

  "You're not going to have a change, after all."

  "Don't say you're going to make--"

  "Love to you? Yes, I am."

&n
bsp; She looked me up and down for a moment.

  "And this is the man," she said slowly--"this is the man"

  "Who said he was not in love with you, and that he didn't want never toleave your side again. Yes, it is. I might have known better than tosay a thing like that. All the same, it wasn't meant for a challenge,Mermaiden."

  She looked at me with a mischievous smile. "And now--"

  I broke off and took her small, brown hand. Up went the dark eyebrows.

  "I shouldn't like you to think that I thought you wanted to kiss me,"she said.

  "I think nothing," said I. "But one thing I know."

  "And that is?"

  "That it would be a crime if I didn't. The very stones would cry out."

  "I don't think they would."

  "I'm afraid they might," said I.