He held up the net and plunged. "First
prize," he cried out, as heartfully as he could, "to me and Miss
Percival."
"So I see," said Mrs. Devereux. "Ah, good morning."
This was to Sanchia's bland greeting, which, as always, made the lady
shiver. It is difficult to say what a shock it was to her to be greeted
cheerfully by Sanchia. To see one in so painful a situation occupied by
anything less painful, interested in anything at all, was truly shocking.
Mrs. Devereux's idea of irregularity was that it absorbed the devoted
victim, kept her aghast. If it did not, surely, there was no reward left
to the virtuous. But here we had a highly irregular young woman behaving
with extreme regularity. Was the world turning upside down? Was black,
then, really white? She shivered, she blinked her eyes; but she descended
the bank and stood beside the pair, yet rigidly apart.
Chevenix, having got her there, knew not what to do with her. It seemed to
him that he had better, on the whole, go on, so turned the lady a knowing
face.
"This is not the first time by any means that Miss Percival and I have
gone fishing, you must know. We began by tickling 'em--we were urchins
together, you see.
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