"I give credit to the far white gods.... In that Olympian Pantheon one is known as Diana."
"She of the Ephesians—yes. She was great, wasn't she? Did you ever hear of the fly who said, 'I lie on my back in space, balancing the world on my six legs'? The fly was quite right; there's no top or bottom point to this sphere—or to your logic, Jim."
He smiled quietly.
"Did you ever hear of that Chinese goddess of the lotus, Kwan-Yin, who, from her blossom throne in the Happy Isles, rescues lost souls?"
"With how many incarnations are you going to endow me, Jim?"
"Do you think I am endowing you with anything you do not already possess?"
"What do I possess?" she laughed; "blue eyes and a fair skin and a heart as mercenary as a Persian pussy's. Warmed in the sunshine of life, I radiate purrs; but I'm a slit-eyed opportunist in storm and stress."
After a moment he said:
"What are your plans when Silvette marries?"
"I suppose I'll marry somebody," she said, thinking of Wallace for the first time. "Old age alone doesn't attract me; in fact, I've been hedging already," she added.