The Girl on the Boat - Penn State University

ner of her eyes. She hardly knew why she had spoken
to him except that, as all motorists are aware, the impulse
to say rude things about their battery is almost
irresistible. To a motorist the art of conversation consists
in rapping out scathing remarks either about the
battery or the oiling-system.
Billie switched on the head-lights and turned the car
down the dark drive. She was feeling thoroughly upset.
Her idealistic nature had received a painful shock
on the discovery of the yellow streak in Bream. To call
it a yellow streak was to understate the facts. It was a
great belt of saffron encircling his whole soul. That she,
Wilhelmina Bennett, who had gone through the world
seeking a Galahad, should finish her career as the wife
of a man who hid under beds simply because people
shot at him with elephant guns was abhorrent to her.
Why, Samuel Marlowe would have perished rather
than do such a thing. You might say what you liked
about Samuel Marlowe—and, of course, his habit of
playing practical jokes put him beyond the pale—but
nobody could question his courage. Look at the way
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Girl</strong> on the Boat
198
he had dived overboard that time in the harbour at
New York! Billie found herself thinking wistfully about
Samuel Marlowe.
<strong>The</strong>re are only a few makes of car in which you can
think about anything except the actual driving without
stalling the engines, and Mr. Bennett’s Twin-Six Complex
was not one of them. It stopped as if it had been
waiting for the signal …. <strong>The</strong> noise of the engine died
away. <strong>The</strong> wheels ceased to revolve. <strong>The</strong> car did everything
except lie down. It was a particularly pigheaded
car and right from the start it had been unable
to see the sense in this midnight expedition. It seemed
now to have the idea that if it just lay low and did nothing,
presently it would be taken back to its cosy garage.
Billie trod on the self-starter. Nothing happened.
“You’ll have to get down and crank her,” she said
curtly.
“All right,” said Bream.
“Well, go on,” said Billie impatiently.
“Eh?”