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Rh only that morning he had not thought of her.

And so he wandered for several hours along the beach, stopping here and there to chat with fishermen he knew. At noon he took a siesta under the shade of an upturned boat. When he awoke he took another stroll and came across Malva far from the fishing ground, reading a tattered book under the shade of the willows.

She looked up at Iakov and smiled.

"Ah, there you are," he said, sitting down beside her.

"Have you been looking for me long?" she asked, demurely.

"Looking for you? What an idea?" replied Iakov, who was only just beginning to realize that it was the truth.