"You young blackguard!"
He managed to slip past me, and made for the shore again.
"Strike out--but hear me," I said, swimming by his side. "Look at the
thing from the standpoint of a philosopher. The fact that the rescue
was arranged oughtn't really to influence you in the least. You didn't
know it at the time, therefore relatively it was not, and you were
genuinely saved from a watery grave."
I felt that I was becoming a shade too metaphysical, but I could not
help it. What I wanted to point out was that I had certainly pulled
him out of the water, and that the fact that I had caused him to be
pushed in had nothing to do with the case. Either a man is a gallant
rescuer or he is not a gallant rescuer. There is no middle course. I
had saved his life, for he would have drowned if he had been left to
himself, and was consequently entitled to his gratitude. And that was
all that there was to be said about it.
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