The Girl on the Boat - Penn State University

the only girl in the world! I have been looking for you
for years and years and I have found you at last, my
soul-mate. Surely this does not come as a surprise to
you? That is, I mean, you must have seen that I’ve
been keen …. <strong>The</strong>re’s that damned Walt Mason stuff
again!” His eyes fell on the volume beside him and he
uttered an exclamation of enlightenment. “It’s those
poems!” he cried. “I’ve been boning them up to such
an extent that they’ve got me doing it too. What I’m
trying to say is, Will you marry me?”
She was drooping towards him. Her face was very
sweet and tender, her eyes misty. He slid an arm about
her waist. She raised her lips to his.
3
SUDDENLY SHE drew herself away, a cloud on her face.
“Darling,” she said, “I’ve a confession to make.”
“A confession? You? Nonsense!”
“I can’t get rid of a horrible thought. I was wondering
if this will last.”
P. G. Wodehouse
55
“Our love? Don’t be afraid that it will fade … I mean
… why, it’s so vast, it’s bound to last … that is to say, of
course it will.”
She traced a pattern on the deck with her shoe.
“I’m afraid of myself. You see, once before—and it was not
so very long ago,—I thought I had met my ideal, but ….”
Sam laughed heartily.
“Are you worrying about that absurd business of poor
old Eustace Hignett?”
She started violently.
“You know!”
“Of course! He told me himself.”
“Do you know him? Where did you meet him?”
“I’ve known him all my life. He’s my cousin. As a
matter of fact, we are sharing a state-room on board
now.”
“Eustace is on board! Oh, this is awful! What shall I
do when I meet him?”
“Oh, pass it off with a light laugh and a genial quip.
Just say: ‘Oh, here you are!’ or something. You know
the sort of thing.”