"After a while, they raised themselves and looked at one another.

"'Tiring work, that sort of thing,' said the other man, with a nod
towards the lock.

"'Yes,' answered the husband, 'beastly awkward not being a good swimmer.
How did you know I had fallen in? You met my wife, I suppose?'

"'Yes,' said the other man.

"The husband sat staring at a point in the horizon for some minutes. 'Do
you know what I was wondering this morning?' said he.

"'No,' said the other man.

"'Whether I should kill you or not.'

"'They told me,' he continued, after a pause, 'a lot of silly gossip
which I was cad enough to believe. I know now it wasn't true,
because--well, if it had been, you would not have done what you have
done.'

"He rose and came across. 'I beg your pardon,' he said, holding out his
hand.

"'I beg yours,' said the other man, rising and taking it; 'do you mind
giving me a hand with the sluices?'

"They set to work to put the lock right.

"'How did you manage to fall in?' asked the other man, who was raising
one of the lower sluices, without looking round.

"The husband hesitated, as if he found the explanation somewhat
difficult. 'Oh,' he answered carelessly, 'the wife and I were chaffing,
and she said she'd often seen you jump it, and'--he laughed a rather
forced laugh--'she promised me a--a kiss if I cleared it. It was a
foolish thing to do.'

"'Yes, it was rather,' said the other man.

"A few days afterwards the man and woman met at a reception. He found
her in a leafy corner of the garden talking to some friends. She
advanced to meet him, holding out her hand. 'What can I say more than
thank you,' she murmured in a low voice.

"The others moved away leaving them alone. 'They tell me you risked your
life to save his?' she said.

"'Yes,' he answered.

"She raised her eyes to his, then struck him across the face with her
ungloved hand.

[Illustration: "STRUCK HIM ACROSS THE FACE."]

"'You damned fool!' she whispered.

"He seized her by her white arms, and forced her back behind the orange
trees. 'Do you know why?' he said, speaking slowly and distinctly;
'because I feared that with him dead you would want me to marry you, and
that, talked about as we have been, I might find it awkward to avoid
doing so; because I feared that without him to stand between us you
might prove an annoyance to me--perhaps come between me and the woman I
love, the woman I am going back to. Now do you understand?'