“They have dreamed of fair regions,” said Old Mole, “but no man has ever gone out to them.”
“Then,” said Panoukian, “it is quite time some one did.”
Matilda came in on that, caught the last words, and asked hopefully:
“What is it you are going to do?”
“He is going,” said Old Mole, “to discover the bedrock of life and live on it.”
“Is that all?” Matilda looked disappointed. “I hoped it was something practical at last.”
The two men tried to carry on the discussion, but she closured it by saying that she wanted to be taken out to dinner and amused. Panoukian flew to dress himself in ordered black and white, and Matilda said to Old Mole:
“The trouble with you two is that you have too much money.”
“That, my dear, is the trouble with almost everybody, and, like everybody else, we sit on it and talk.”
“It would do you both a world of good to have some real hard, unpleasant work.”