As for the
_Martha_, Mr. Sheldon, we'll rush the stuff ashore this afternoon and
sail by sundown."
As the two men returned down the path to their boat, Sheldon regarded
Joan quizzically.
"There's romance for you," he said, "and adventure--gold-hunting among
the cannibals."
"A title for a book," she cried. "Or, better yet, 'Gold-Hunting Among
the Head-Hunters.' My! wouldn't it sell!"
"And now aren't you sorry you became a cocoanut planter?" he teased.
"Think of investing in such an adventure."
"If I did," she retorted, "Von Blix wouldn't be finicky about my joining
in the cruise to Malaita."
"I don't doubt but what he would jump at it."
"What do you think of them?" she asked.
"Oh, old Von Blix is all right, a solid sort of chap in his fashion; but
Tudor is fly-away--too much on the surface, you know. If it came to
being wrecked on a desert island, I'd prefer Von Blix."
"I don't quite understand," Joan objected. "What have you against
Tudor?"
"You remember Browning's 'Last Duchess'?"
She nodded.
"Well, Tudor reminds me of her--"
"But she was delightful."
"So she was. But she was a woman. One expects something different from
a man--more control, you know, more restraint, more deliberation. A man
must be more solid, more solid and steady-going and less effervescent.
Pages:
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156