‘It’s certainly odd.’ Connor drained his cup and paused to pick a tea leaf from his tongue. ‘It could have quite a simple explanation, of course. Maybe the first guy wanted to stay longer, while the young one – you said he was young?’

‘Yes, years younger than Ger— than the other,’ Tilly agreed.

‘Perhaps he’d had enough and wanted an early ride out?’

‘The first man’s likely to be stranded here then,’ Tilly objected. ‘Most campers haven’t enough room to give rides. It’s why we see so few backpackers. They have no way of getting here.’

‘Mmm. I suppose he must’ve thought of that. Tell you what,’ he continued after a moment’s thought, ‘why don’t I run you down to the camp this arvo? Just to take a look at who is there. What do you say?’

‘Oh, but that’s not necessary.’ Flustered by the offer, Tilly suddenly doubted herself. ‘Half the time I think I imagined seeing him, and the same person came out. Besides, you’ve got your own plans – aren’t you taking the boat out this afternoon?’

‘I can do that tomorrow. Look, it’s upset you. It’s only a few minutes to run down and check, and if it puts your mind at rest, well, isn’t that worth the time? I was only little when my dad died, but for what seemed like ages, my mum used to see him everywhere. She’d go pale and afterwards she’d cry. Gramps told me it was about laying ghosts to rest. Something you had to do, he said, when you lost someone.’

The memory he offered smoothed Tilly’s confusion. She said, ‘You’re very thoughtful, Connor, and your grandfather was right. So thank you, yes. It’s silly, but I’ll take you up on that. Straight after lunch then?’ It felt right. And it would put that recurring once and all its connotations permanently to rest.

He smiled. ‘It’s a deal.’ Settling deeper into his chair as she collected the tray, he drew a small piece of wood and his stock knife from his pocket and began idly to whistle, scraping at one end of the wood.

Intrigued, Tilly paused at the door to watch. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Huh? Oh, whittling. Bit of a hobby of mine. Good for stress.’

‘Oh you certainly need it then,’ she quipped and went indoors smiling. Anyone less stressed than Connor was hard to imagine.