“To the war! You? A clergyman?” said Mr. Howland.
“You? You going?” cried Paula. At the pain in her voice her father and Brand turned and looked at her. Disturbed by what he saw, her father began an excited appeal to Barry.
“Why, my dear sir, it would surely be most unusual for a man like you to go to war,” he began, and for quite ten minutes he proceeded to set forth in fluent and excited speech a number of reasons why the idea of Barry's going to war was absurd and preposterous to him. It must be confessed that Barry was the only one of the men who appeared to give much heed to him. They seemed to be dazed by the stupendous fact that had been announced to them, and to be adjusting themselves to that fact.
When he had finished his lengthy and excited speech Brand took up the discourse.
“Of course you don't think of going immediately,” he said. “We have this expedition in hand.”
The men made no reply. Indeed, they hardly seemed to hear him.
“You don't mean to say,” continued Brand with a touch of indignation in his voice, addressing Duff, the recognised leader of the party, “that you would break your engagement with this party, Mr. Duff?”
Duff glanced at him, then looked away in silence, studying the horizon. The world was to him and to them all a new world within the last few minutes.
His silence appeared to enrage Brand. He turned to Barry.
“Do you mean to tell me, sir, that you approve of this? Do you consider it right and fair that these men should break their engagement with us? We have gone to great expense, we have extremely important interests at stake in this exploration.”