So she doesn't like them."
The boy gasped.
"You oughtn't to--had you--that isn't just right for you to say, is
it?" he asked awkwardly.
"What--hell?" Caroline inquired placidly. "No, I s'pose not. Nor
damn nor devil, either. But, of course, I know 'em. Those are the
only three I know. I guess they're about the worst, though," she
added with pardonable pride. "My cousin, the Captain, knows some
more. He's twelve 'n a half. But he won't tell 'em to me. He says
boys always know more than girls. I suppose," respectfully, "you
know more than those three, yourself?"
Her companion coughed.
"A boy--" he began, then paused, confronted with her round, trustful
eyes.
"A boy--" he started again, and again he paused.
"Oh, well, a boy's different," he blurted, finally.
Caroline nodded humbly.
"Yes, I know," she murmured.
There was silence for a while. The river slipped liquidly over the
stones, the white clouds raced along the blue above them, the boy
smoked. At length he burst out with:
"You're all right, now! You're just a regular little chum, aren't
you?"
She blushed with pleasure.
"I never had anybody along with me," he went on dreamily. "I always
go alone. I--I didn't know how nice it was. I _had_ a chum once, but
he--he--"
The boy's voice trembled.
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