If I live he shall
continue
to be successful.
Kipling - Poems
"
Mrs. Mallowe told.
* * * * * *
"And--you--mean--to--say that it is absolutely Platonic on both sides? "
"Absolutely, or I should never have taken it up. "
"And his last promotion was due to you? "
Mrs. Mallowe nodded.
"And you warned him against the Topsham girl? "
Another nod.
"And told him of Sir Dugald Delane's private memo about him? "
A third nod.
"Why? "
"What a question to ask a woman! Because it amused me at first. I am
proud of my property now.
If I live he shall continue to be successful.
Yes, I will put him upon the straight road to Knighthood, and everything
else that a man values. The rest depends upon himself. "
"Polly, you are a most extraordinary woman. "
"Not in the least. I'm concentrated, that's all. You diffuse yourself,
dear; and though all Simla knows your skill in managing a team"--
"Can't you choose a prettier word? "
"Team, of half a dozen, from The Mussuck to the Hawley Boy, you gain
nothing by it. Not even amusement. "
"And you? "
"Try my recipe. Take a man, not a boy, mind, but an almost mature,
unattached man, and be this guide, philosopher, and friend. You'll find
it the most interesting occupation that you ever embarked on. It can be
done--you needn't look like that--because I've done it. "
"There's an element of risk about it that makes the notion attractive.
I'll get such a man and say to him, 'Now, understand that there must be
no flirtation.
Mrs. Mallowe told.
* * * * * *
"And--you--mean--to--say that it is absolutely Platonic on both sides? "
"Absolutely, or I should never have taken it up. "
"And his last promotion was due to you? "
Mrs. Mallowe nodded.
"And you warned him against the Topsham girl? "
Another nod.
"And told him of Sir Dugald Delane's private memo about him? "
A third nod.
"Why? "
"What a question to ask a woman! Because it amused me at first. I am
proud of my property now.
If I live he shall continue to be successful.
Yes, I will put him upon the straight road to Knighthood, and everything
else that a man values. The rest depends upon himself. "
"Polly, you are a most extraordinary woman. "
"Not in the least. I'm concentrated, that's all. You diffuse yourself,
dear; and though all Simla knows your skill in managing a team"--
"Can't you choose a prettier word? "
"Team, of half a dozen, from The Mussuck to the Hawley Boy, you gain
nothing by it. Not even amusement. "
"And you? "
"Try my recipe. Take a man, not a boy, mind, but an almost mature,
unattached man, and be this guide, philosopher, and friend. You'll find
it the most interesting occupation that you ever embarked on. It can be
done--you needn't look like that--because I've done it. "
"There's an element of risk about it that makes the notion attractive.
I'll get such a man and say to him, 'Now, understand that there must be
no flirtation.
