"O—oh!" gasped Dinah as she took enlightenment. . . . "But two hundred pounds is a terrible sum to spend in findin' out which o' two men is the bigger fool. Why not begin wi' the one you like best, and find out first if he's foolish enough to suit?"
"Because," answered Mrs Bosenna, turning meditative eyes again upon the fire, "I don't happen to know which I like best."
"Then you can't be in love," declared foolish Dinah.
"Sensible women ain't; not until afterwards. . . . Now, which would you advise me to marry?"
"Captain Hunken." Dinah's answer was prompt. "He's that curt. I like a man to be curt; he makes it so hard for 'ee to say no. Besides which, as you might say, that parrot of his did break the ice in a manner of speakin'."
"Dinah, I'm ashamed of you."
"Well, mistress, natur' is natur': and we knows what we can't help knowin'."
"That's true," Mrs Bosenna agreed. It was her turn to sigh.
"Cap'n Hunken's the man," repeated Dinah. She nodded her head on it and paused. "Though, if you ask my opinion, Cap'n Hocken 'd make the better husband."
"It's difficult."