"Quite comfortable, dearest, never ceased to be so since I came to myself and found you were really alive and still fond of me," he added in an undertone.
She kissed his brow and returned to her seat.
"You remember the day that I was lost—how we landed, the children and I, on a broad strip of greensward, while the boats drew up under the bank to take us back on board at sunset? Well I set them to work at running races and playing games of all sorts into which they entered heartily enough, poor little ones, after their long confinement on the boats. It was a real pleasure to me to enter into their childish delight, and for nearly two hours we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, and fairly tired ourselves out. Then just as the sun was getting low, and I was on the point of collecting them together in order to embark, a loud scream came from the wood behind, and as we hastily turned round, we saw two monstrous machines, the largest I had seen, coming from among the dark trunks and bearing down upon us."
"Yes," said I, "that is just the tale the children told. We thought they might have exaggerated through fright."
