‘But, my dear,’ urged Mr. Adrian, ‘it was in self-defence.’
‘Self-fiddlesticks! What business had the man there, poking his nose into their wigwams and interfering? How would you like a black man to walk in here and begin lecturing you? You’d try to turn him out, wouldn’t you? And then because you did that he’d turn round and shoot you, and say it was self-defence. Bah! I haven’t patience with all this mischief-making in outlandish parts.’
‘But, my dear, much good is done. This missionary was a very famous man, and he converted them at last. Before he left, the natives used knives and forks instead of their fingers, and the king of one very ferocious tribe, of cannibal habits, had all his prisoners of war roasted on Saturday afternoon to avoid Sunday cooking. How would civilization be spread, my dear but for these explorers?’
‘Civilization!’ exclaimed Mrs. Adrian, dropping half-a-dozen stitches in her excitement. ‘Don’t you think there’s room for a little more civilization at home before we begin to give it away to the blackamoors? Civilization ought to begin at home.’
‘You are wrong, my dear,’ said Mr. Adrian, closing his book and preparing for battle. ‘What do you say, Ruth?’
‘I think we ought to do a good deal more at home than we do,’ said Ruth gently. ‘I think sometimes the black heathen get a great deal more sympathy than the white.’
Mrs. Adrian declared Ruth was a sensible girl, and fired another volley at the enemy. The discussion had grown slightly heated when Mr. Adrian introduced the subject of Gertie, suggesting that the sooner Ruth found a home for her the better.
Then Mrs. Adrian fired up. Of course he objected to Gertie because she was an English child; if she’d been a black or a brown child he would have given her the best room in the house; as she was white and English she was to be turned out at once.
The more Mr. Adrian opposed Gertie, the more Mrs. Adrian championed her, until at last, for the sake of peace and quietness, the master of the house gave way, and consented, ‘to please his wife’s fad,’ that the child should stay as long as Ruth liked.
Thus were the heathen pressed into the service, and thus did Mr. Adrian win the battle by pretending to be beaten. It was not the first time he had won over his wife to his way of thinking by pretending to take an opposite view.