"Maybe he has paid the devil off," Quamina surmises.
Captain Stevenson and Major Short ride over, much to Eleanor's delight, who enjoys a chat with the outer world as keenly as Carol.
She longs once again to hear Major Short's melodious voice, and bringing her guitar, begs for "Mandalay."
But he shakes his head.
"I shall tire you of the one song," he declares.
"Not when it is the favourite," she protests. "Only four lines, if you will, or a single bar of the tune. I love the sad refrain."
He follows her on to the verandah. Quinton and Capt. Stevenson are talking and smoking within.
They catch the words between the pauses in their conversation:
"Ship me somewhere east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there ain't no ten Commandments, and a man can raise a thirst.
For the temple bells are callin' and it's there that I would be,
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea."