"
"Not a doubt of it," said I, resting on my oars. "What do you think,
Lisbeth?" She leaned back and regarded me demurely beneath her long
lashes for a moment.
"I think," she answered, "that it would be much nicer if you would
go on rowing."
"One more question," I said. "Tell me, has this Prince Trueheart
got a moustache?"
"Like Mr. Selwyn?" cried the Imp; "should think not. The prince
was a fine chap, an' used to kill dragons, you know."
"Ah! I'm glad of that," I murmured, passing my fingers across my
shaven upper lip; "very glad indeed." Lisbeth laughed, but I saw
her colour deepen and she looked away.
"Oh, it must be lovely to kill a dragon!" sighed the Imp.
Now, as he spoke, chancing to look round, I saw in the distance a
man in a boat, who rowed most lustily - and the man wore a Panama.
Hereupon, taking a fresh grip upon my long sculls, I began to row
- to row, indeed, as I had not done for many a year, with a long,
steady stroke that made the skiff fairly leap. Who does not know
that feeling of exhilaration as the blades grip the water and the
gentle lapping at the bow swells into a gurgling song?"
The memorable time when I had "stroked" Cambridge to victory was
nothing to this.
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