Dusk was settling when we started on the return journey. We found that we had drifted further than we had intended. Mr. Rapson took the pole and did the punting. Miss Kitty sang to him, she said to encourage him. I think it must have been then that I first heard _Twickenham Ferry_. She had to leave off part way through the last verse I remember. She said that the mist from the river choked her; but I, lying on the cushions beside her, somehow gathered the impression that she was nearly crying. When she broke down, under cover of darkness I got my hand into hers, and then she slipped her arm about me. After that she was very subdued and silent. My uncle fell off to sleep, and Mr. Rapson kept his face turned away from us, busy with his punting. I wondered if, after all, Miss Kitty was happy. It was night when we arrived. She insisted on parting with us at the landing, saying that her houseboat was just across the river and she could take the punt home quite well unaccompanied. We had said good-by and were walking along the quay, when Rapson left us and ran back. I saw him come close and bend over her. They seemed to be whispering together. Then she pushed out into the river; the lights of the town held her for a time; darkness closed in behind her and she vanished. On the drive back to the Red House I grew drowsy. I tried to keep my eyes open, but even the soft moonlight seemed dazzling. The meadows and tall trees stealing by, ceased to stand out separate, but became a blur. The sharp _trit-trot, trit-trot_ of the horses’ hoofs on the hard macadam road lulled me by their monotonous regularity. When I came to myself I heard my uncle saying, “I like that little cousin of yours, Rapson; she’s charming and different from any woman that I ever met.” “Daresay she is,” Rapson answered, dryly; “you’ve led such a sheltered life. Of course she isn’t my cousin.” “Who is she, then?” “Oh, a nymph.” “A nymph! You have the better of me there. That’s a classical allusion, no doubt. I don’t understand.” “Never mind, papa,” Mr. Rapson said cheerfully; “I didn’t think you would understand. It’s just as well.” Then he commenced speaking to his horses. “So, girl! Steady there! Steady!” I rubbed my eyes, and saw that we were ascending Eden Hill. CHAPTER VIII--MONEY AND HAPPINESS