‘I can stand all that. What really kills me is giving a man the C.B. when he is just booked for some home of yellow fever.’
‘They do that too,’ gravely observed the other, who was beginning to feel the pace of the conversation rather too fast for him. ‘Don’t you smoke?’
‘I’m rather reducing myself to half batta in tobacco. I’ve thoughts of marrying.’
‘Don’t do that.’
‘Why? It’s not wrong.’
‘No, perhaps not; but it’s stupid.’
‘Come now, old fellow, life out there in the tropics is not so jolly all alone! Alligators are interesting creatures, and cheetahs are pretty pets; but a man wants a little companionship of a more tender kind; and a nice girl who would link her fortunes with one’s own, and help one through the sultry hours, is no bad thing.’
‘The nice girl wouldn’t go there.’
‘I’m not so sure of that. With your great knowledge of life, you must know that there has been a glut in “the nice-girl” market these years back. Prime lots are sold for a song occasionally, and first-rate samples sent as far as Calcutta. The truth is, the fellow who looks like a real buyer may have the pick of the fair, as they call it here.’
So he ought,’ growled out the major.