On Monday, after a most successful day on the river, in which both camps had nearly equal good luck, the two men from the island came down in the evening, through a fine moonlight, to the lower camp. They were now in that easy stage of acquaintanceship with the Lyndsays when people begin to make agreeable discoveries as to other people who are common friends.
Carington watched his chance and caught Jack alone.
Carington was very quick to catch the accent of lingering discontent.
“By the way,” he said, “I was rather sharp on you the other day. I don’t want you to think I thought you did quite the right thing; but I liked your pluck, even if it was out of place, and I understood the temptation. Suppose we forget it all. Be ready on Thursday night—pretty late. I shall get back here by eleven, I hope, and will pick you up. I can give you a bed and a blanket, and early Friday we will be off for a day. I can’t promise you a bear, but I think we shall both like the tramp.”
“I’ll be ready, and I’m much obliged, too.”
Jack was enchanted, and by and by confided to Rose in a corner his exalted opinion of Mr. Carington, nor was he altogether satisfied with her “Oh, yes, he’s quite a nice kind of a man.”
“You were to have seen, Mr. Ellett, how foolish we can be,” said Rose, as they stood by the door. “I also promised Mr. Carington that experience.”
“No. Papa and I had arranged some very neat situations for your discomfiture; but papa finally decided that they were too difficult, or at least needed some preparation.”
“But I should really like it. I can do a little at it myself, and Fred used to be a very clever actor. But, then, he does so many things well. Do you do many things well?”
“Everything,” said the young woman. “We do everything well here in this family, even to liking our friends better than other people like their friends.”
“Don’t you think our friends’ friends are often great troubles? I think a fellow’s friends ought not to have any friends. That is, a man’s friends should not be the friends of his friends. That wouldn’t be so bad now, would it, if it wasn’t a bit mixed?”
Hearing Rose’s merriment, as poor Ellett endeavored to untangle his sentence, Anne and Carington turned to join them.