Crazy Radio eBooks

"I! I am an old fellow playing the fool."
Suddenly his gayety had evaporated, and he was conscious of his years.
He let the boat drift for a moment.
"Check me another time, Vere, if you see me inclined to be buffo," he
said.
"Indeed I won't. Why should I? I like you best when you are quite
natural."
"Do you?"
"Yes. Look! There are the lights! Oh, how strange they are. Go a
little nearer, but not too near."
"Tell me, then. Remember, I can't see."
"Yes. One, two, three--"
She counted. Each time she said a number he pulled. And she, like a
little coxswain, bent towards him with each word, giving him a bodily
signal for the stroke. Presently she stretched out her hand.
"Stop!"
He stopped at once. For a minute the boat glided on. Then the impetus
he had given died away from it, and it floated quietly without
perceptible movement upon the bosom of the sea.
"Now, Monsieur Emile, you must come and sit by me."
Treading softly he obeyed her, and sat down near her, facing the
shadowy coast.


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