"Sure.”Hewasgdtohavemetsuchagenerous,beautifulyoungwoman，passiooinanimatemaery．Sudhearted，sealpeoplewererarenowadays．Hewascurioustoseehowshewouldlookihingsuit,curvaceousfigurefullyexposed．Hewasonlyapoor,dirty,oldhomelessperson,butsheaskedhimhomeforaswim,whichshowedshewasfreeofprejudice．
"Aftertheswim,wouldyouliketogotoadinnerandballwithme?It’sarare,grandoccasionandthegreatprincesoffinanceareexpectedtobepresent．Howaboutit?"
"No，thankyou,”saidDimitri，"IamnotproperlydressedandIdon’tthinkI’llfitintothesehighsocietyfuns．RememberI’monlyavagabondroamingaroureets.”
"It’sok．You’reaboutmyfather’sheightandsize．Hepassedaway．butI’vekepthisexpensivewardrobe．Youchoosewhatyouwanttowear.”
"No．I’mnotusedtosocializingandwillbeadisgracetoyou.”
"eon，Dimitri，"coaxedthegirl．"Ifyoudon’tgowithme．What’llhappehecarstallsagain?Wouldyouletmedrivealomidnight?"Thatwasagoodexcuse．Dimitricouldn’tfier．
Inthequietautumnafternoon，drytwigsandleavessnappedandcrackledasthewheelsofthecarrolledoverthem，makingitsthewindingtrail．Sunshine，peepingthroughthedenseeucalyptustreescasttticedshadowsontheground，givingadizzy，nht，now-darkimpression．Oopofthehillwasanexquisitehouse，builtintheshapeofaminiaturecastle，extremelywellkeptupandperfeeverydetail．Theroomyinteriorwasajewelininteriordecoration．TwohundredyearoldVictorianstyleantiquefurniturewerepolishedtilltheyshoneandgleamed．othegrandlivingroom，wasasmallden，whoseFrendowsopeothebackyardwithquiteargeswimmingpool．Thepoolwasamasterpieceofiy，equippedwithahugecolpsible，transparent，gssshieldtokeepoutthecoldwindandraininwinter．Airditionedandwelllit，itwasguaraogivemaximumfortinallweather．Whennotneededinsummet，itcouldbefoldedandstored．
Dimitrisatbythegss，lookingatthepaleblue，shadowySierraMountainsianuchlikeanimpressionistwatercolor,whichcouldgiveoneageneralpictureirokes．Soonthemountaintopswouldbecoveredwithseveralfeetofsnow，andthefollowingsummerthesnowwouldmeltintothewaterflowingintotherivers，invigoratingthefisheswithafresh,coolcurrent．DimitriwatchedasMegginnswamfreestylebadforthacrossthepool，slowlyalmostily,perfectlyrexed．Hemarveledattheclevernessofhumanswhoimicthefish’smotionsinwater．HethoughtofthebluegooninhisKingdom，whereDeanna，themermaid，wasalsoanexcellentswimmer．Ifthesetwocouldswimtogether，itwouldmakeageouspicture．Justthen，wildpidginsflewbyoverheadinaflurryofwings．Dimitrieheirinnatesenseofdire，whichalwaysledthemhomeontherighttrackwithoutevergettinglost．Inthisrespect，theyweresuperiortohumanbeings．Ifhisworldhadthegiftofvision，perhapshumanbeings，too，wouldhavedevelopedthebat’sabilitytofindtheirdireunerringlybyechoesgeedbythemselves．Butthen,theoverdevelopmentofonesensewouldprobablyweakenanother．Iftheyhadthebat’ssenseofdire,theywouldperhapslosetheenjoymentofsight．Dimitrifeltsaddehefactthathe，unfortunately，wasonewhowasdestiolosethatpreciousenjoyment．Thestitutionofmanwasnotasperfectasthatofbirds，atleastforhimthatwastrue．
Megginnclimbedoutofthepool,withwaterdrippingfromherbody1ikestringsofpearls，saying，
"Shameonyou,Dimitri!Youonlyswamtwops．That’stoolittle!"
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