HEARTS AND OTHER HEARTS

Stephen had brought a change of clothes, as he had a habit of
being ducked once at least during the day; and since there was a
halt in the proceedings and no need of his services for an hour
or two, he found Rose and walked with her to a secluded spot
where they could watch the logs and not be seen by the people.

"You frightened everybody almost to death, jumping into the
river," chided Rose.

Stephen laughed. "They thought I was a fool to save a fool, I
suppose."

"Perhaps not as bad as that, but it did seem reckless."

"I know; and the boy, no doubt, would be better off dead; but so
should I be, if I could have let him die."

Rose regarded this strange point of view for a moment, and then
silently acquiesced in it. She was constantly doing this, and
she often felt that her mental horizon broadened in the act; but
she could not be sure that Stephen grew any dearer to her because
of his moral altitudes.

"Besides," Stephen argued, "I happened to be nearest to the
river, and it was my job."

"How do you always happen to be nearest to the people in trouble,
and why is it always your 'job'!"