第35部分(第4/7 頁)

〃Let　me　row　awhile；〃　Catherine　said。

〃I　don't　think　you　ought　to。〃

〃Nonsense。　It　would　be　good　for　me。　It　would　keep　me　from　being　too　stiff。〃

〃I　don't　think　you　should；　Cat。〃

〃Nonsense。　Rowing　in　moderation　is　very　good　for　the　pregnant　lady。〃

〃All　right；　you　row　a　little　moderately。　I'll　go　back；　then　you　e　up。　Hold　on　to　both　gunwales　when　you　e　up。〃

I　sat　in　the　stern　with　my　coat　on　and　the　collar　turned　up　and　watched　Catherine　row。　She　rowed　very　well　but　the　oars　were　too　long　and　bothered　her。　I　opened　the　bag　and　ate　a　couple　of　sandwiches　and　took　a　drink　of　the　brandy。　It　made　everything　much　better　and　I　took　another　drink。

〃Tell　me　when　you're　tired；〃　I　said。　Then　a　little　later；　〃Watch　out　the　oar　doesn't　pop　you　in　the　tummy。〃

〃If　it　did〃……Catherine　said　between　strokes……〃life　might　be　much　simpler。〃

I　took　another　drink　of　the　brandy。

〃How　are　you　going？〃

〃All　right。〃

〃Tell　me　when　you　want　to　stop。〃

〃All　right。〃

I　took　another　drink　of　the　brandy；　then　took　hold　of　the　two　gunwales　of　the　boat　and　moved　forward。

〃No。　I'm　going　beautifully。〃

〃Go　on　back　to　the　stern。　I've　had　a　grand　rest。〃

For　a　while；　with　the　brandy；　I　rowed　easily　and　steadily。　Then　I　began　to　catch　crabs　and　soon　I　was　just　chopping　along　again　with　a　thin　brown　taste　of　bile　from　having　rowed　too　hard　after　the　brandy。

〃Give　me　a　drink　of　water；　will　you？〃　I　said。

〃That's　easy；〃　Catherine　said。

Before　daylight　it　started　to　drizzle。　The　wind　was　down　or　we　were　protected　by　mountains　that　bounded　the　curve　the　lake　had　made。　When　I　knew　daylight　was　ing　I　settled　down　and　rowed　hard。　I　did　not　know　where　we　were　and　I　wanted　to　get　into