"Ah!" she said. "I suppose it's sometimes brutal, but that is man's work, isn't it?"
Austin laughed again, though there was a faint warmth in his cheek. "Of course, I see the inference," he said. "Still, it really isn't necessary for everybody to hold a big vessel's wheel, and I would a good deal sooner you said something nice to me. Nobody likes to be told the truth about themselves, you know, and I understand now why folks threw big stones at the goat-skinned prophets long ago."
"Well," said Jacinta, "we will talk of somebody else. I wonder if you know that Jefferson has been left a fortune, or, at least, part of one?"
"I didn't. Still, I'm glad to hear it. I like the man. In fact, he's the straightest one I've come across in his occupation, which, by the way, is, perhaps, somewhat of an admission, considering that he's an American."
"I like most Americans. For one thing, they're usually in earnest."
"And you like Spaniards, who certainly aren't."
"We will waive the question. It's rather a coincidence that Jefferson should have fallen in love about the same time."
"Do I know the lady, who is, presumably, in earnest, too? I don't like women who have a purpose openly, though that does not apply to you. You have usually a good many, but nobody knows anything about them until you have accomplished them."
Jacinta ignored the compliment. "I don't think you know her, but she is a friend of mine. I went to school with her for two years in England."
"Then, of course, she's nice."