"I wasn't suggesting you'd pawned it, George," I said.
A sense of humour not being my brother's strong point, this little
pleasantry fell on stony ground.
"Aren't we wandering rather from the point?" he asked.
"Not a bit," I said, with some cheerfulness. "I was just thinking
that if I'm booked to go to Grendon in ten days' time it's highly
necessary that I should have a short holiday first. A smart country
house-party bang on top of two months of London would just about
finish me."
"Well?" said George, raising his eyebrows.
"Well, that's why I inquired about the boat," I finished. "I could
just put in a week's sailing nicely, and write my paper for the
_Fortnightly_ at the same time."
George looked at me with a kind of pitying interest.
"Am I to understand that you intend sailing about the coast of
Scotland for a week by yourself?"