he should have stuck out, and protruded where he should have been flat.
There flashed across her mind a vividly clear picture of Chuck as she
had last seen him--brown, fit, high of chest, flat of stomach, slim of
flank.

Ballou saw her. He straightened and came toward her swiftly. "Somebody
looks mighty sweet this afternoon."

Tessie plumped the heavy lunch box into his arms. "When you get a line
you like you stick to it, don't you?"

Down at the boathouse even Tessie, who had confessed ignorance of boats
and oars, knew that Ballou was fumbling clumsily. He stooped to adjust
the oars to the oarlocks. His hat was off. His hair looked very gray
in the cruel spring sunshine. He straightened and smiled up at her.

"Ready in a minute, sweetheart," he said. He took off his collar and
turned in the neckband of his shirt. His skin was very white. Tessie
felt a little shudder of disgust sweep over her, so that she stumbled a
little as she stepped into the boat.

The river was very lovely. Tessie trailed her fingers in the water and
told herself that she was having a grand time. She told Nap the same
when he asked her.

"Having a good time, little beauty?" he said. He was puffing a little
with the unwonted exercise.

Tessie tried some of her old-time pertness of speech. "Oh, good
enough, considering the company."

He laughed admiringly at that and said she was a sketch.

When the early evening came on they made a clumsy landing and had
supper. This time Nap fed her the tidbits, though she protested.

"White meat for you," he said, "with your skin like milk."

"You must of read that in a book," scoffed Tessie. She glanced around
her at the deepening shadows. "We haven't got much time. It gets dark
so early."

"No hurry," Nap assured her. He went on eating in a leisurely,
finicking sort of way, though he consumed very little food, actually.

"You're not eating much," Tessie said once, halfheartedly. She decided
that she wasn't having such a very grand time, after all, and that she
hated his teeth, which were very bad. Now, Chuck's strong, white,
double row----

"Well," she said, "let's be going."

"No hurry," again.

Tessie looked up at that with the instinctive fear of her kind. "What
d'you mean, no hurry! 'Spect to stay here till dark?" She laughed at
her own joke.

"Yes."

She got up then, the blood in her face. "Well, _I_ don't."

He rose, too. "Why not?"

"Because I don't, that