waters, and raining red gold on the line of her bows. By comparison she
was an ugly yawl, and as the creature of wind and wave beautiful.

They passed an English defensive fort, and spared its walls, in obedience
to Matthew Shale's good counsel that they should forbear from sneezing.
Little Collett pointed to the roof of his mother's house twenty paces
rearward of a belt of tamarisks, green amid the hollowed yellows of
shorebanks yet in shade, crumbling to the sands. Weyburn was attracted
by a diminutive white tent, of sentry-box shape, evidently a bather's,
quite as evidently a fair bather's. He would have to walk on some way
for his dip. He remarked to little Collett that ladies going into the
water half-dressed never have more than half a bath. His arms and legs
flung out contempt of that style of bathing, exactly in old Matey's well-
remembered way. Half a mile off shore, the Susan was put about to flap
her sails, and her boat rocked with the passengers. Turning from a final
cheer to friendly Matthew, Weyburn at the rudder espied one of those
unenfranchised ladies in marine uniform issuing through the tent-slit.
She stepped firmly, as into her element. A plain look at her, and a
curious look, and an intent look fixed her fast, and ran the shock on his
heart before he knew of a guess. She waded, she dipped; a head across
the breast of the waters was observed: this one of them could swim. She
was making for sea, a stone's throw off the direction of the boat.
Before his wits had grasped the certainty possessing them, fiery envy and
desire to be alongside her set his fingers fretting at buttons. A grand
smooth swell of the waters lifted her, and her head rose to see her
world. She sank down the valley, where another wave was mounding for its
onward roll: a gentle scene of Weyburn's favourite Sophoclean chorus.
Now she was given to him--it was she. How could it ever have been any
other! He handed his watch to little Collett, and gave him the ropes,
pitched coat and waistcoat on his knees, stood free of boots and socks,