"Females are certainly alike under their skins, whether they're angels
or Hottentots," Ralph Addington commented. " That tableau appearance was
all cooked up for us. They must have practised it for hours."
"It has the rose-carnival at Tetaluma, Cal., faded," remarked Honey
Smith.
"The 'quiet one' was giving the orders for that wing-movement," said
Billy Fairfax. "She whispered them, but I heard her. She engineered the
whole thing. She seems to be their leader."
"I got their voices this time," said Pete Murphy. "Beautiful, all of
them. Soprano, high and clear. They've got a language, all right, too.
What did you think of it, Frank?"
"Most interesting," replied Frank Merrill, "most interesting. A
preponderance of consonants. Never guttural in effect, and as you say,
beautiful voices, very high and clear."
"I don't see why they don't stop and play," complained Honey. His tone
was the petulant one of a spoiled child. It is likely that during the
whole course of his woman-petted existence, he had never been so
completely ignored. "If I only knew their lingo, I could convince them
in five minutes that we wouldn't hurt them."
"If we could only signal," said Billy Fairfax, "that if they'd only come
down to earth, we wouldn't go any nearer than they wanted. But the deuce
of it is proving to them that we don't bite."
"It is probably that they have known only males of a more primitive
type," Frank Merrill explained. "Possibly they are accustomed to
marriage by capture."
"That would be a very lucky thing," Ralph explained in an aside to
Honey. "Marriage by capture isn't such a foolish proposition, after all.
Look at the Sabine women. I never heard tell that there was any kick
coming from them. It all depends on the men."
"Oh, Lord, Ralph, marriage by capture isn't a sporting proposition,"
said Honey in a disgusted tone. "I'm not for it. A man doesn't get a run
for his money. It's too much like shooting trapped game."
"Well, I will admit that there's more fun in the chase," Ralph answered.
"Oh, well, if the little darlings are not accustomed to chivalry from
men," Pete Murphy was in the meantime saying, "that explains why they
stand us off."
It was typical of Pete to refer to the flying-girls as "little
darlings." The shortest among them was, of course, taller than he. But
to Pete any woman was "little one," no matter what her stature, as any
woman was "pure as the driven snow" until she proved the contrary. This
impregnable simplicity explained much of the disaster of his married
life.