He began to plunge down the long, broken sand-slope. Each step was worth ten. Randolph followed--with judgment. He would not seem young enough to be a competitor, nor yet old enough to be a drag. On the shore he wiped and panted a little more--but not to the point of embarrassment, and still less to the point of mortification. After all, he was keeping up pretty well. At the bottom Cope, with his shoes full of sand, turned round and looked up the slope down which his companion was coming. He waved his arms. "It's almost as fine from here!" he cried. The beach, once gained, was in sight both ways for miles. Not a human habitation was visible, nor a human being. Two or three gulls flew a little out from shore, and the tracks of a sandpiper led from the wet shingle to the first fringe of sandgrass higher up. "Where are the crowds?" asked Cope, with a sonorous shout. "Miles behind," replied Randolph. "We haven't come this long distance to meet them after all. Besides," he continued, looking at his watch, "this is not the time of day for them. At twelve-fifteen people are not strolling or tramping; they're thinking of their dinner. We have a full hour or more for making less than two easy miles before we reach _ours_." "No need to hurry, then." The beach, at its edge, was firm, and they strolled on for half a mile and cooled off as they went. The air was mild; the noonday sun was warm; both of them had taken off their coats. They sat down under a clump of basswoods, the only trees beyond the foot of the sand-slope, and looked at the water. "It's like a big, useless bathtub," observed Randolph. "Not so much useless as unused." "Yes, I suppose the season _is_ as good as over,--though this end of the lake stays warm longer than most other parts." "It isn't so much the warmth of the water," remarked Cope sententiously. "It's more the warmth of the air." "Well, the air seems warm enough. After all, the air and the sun are about the best part of a swim. Do you want to go in?" Cope rose, walked to the edge of the water, and put in a finger or two. "Well, it might be warmer; but, as I say...." "We could try a ten-minute dip. That would get us to our dinner in good time and in good trim." "All right. Let's, then." "Only, you'll have to do most of the swimming," said Randolph. "My few small feats are all accomplished pretty close to shore." "Never mind. Company's the thing. A fellow finds it rather slow, going in alone."