"The water is delightfully warm," I said.
"Oh, it's you!" said he, and I could not cheat myself into believing
that he spoke cordially.
"You are swimming splendidly this morning," I said, feeling that an
ounce of flattery is often worth a pound of rhetoric. "If," I added,
"you will allow me to say so."
"I will not," he snapped. "I--" Here a small wave, noticing that his
mouth was open, walked in. "I wish," he resumed warmly, "as I said in
me letter, to have nothing to do with you. I consider ye've behaved in
a manner that can only be described as abominable, and I will thank ye
to leave me alone."
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