"I wasn't thinking of such
things," he declared.
"What things?" said his wife, swiftly.
"The--the things you're alluding to," said the harassed Mr. Chalk.
"Ah!" said his wife, with a toss of her head. "Why you should get red in
the face and confused when I say Peckham Rye and Yarmouth are a long way
off is best known to yourself. It's very funny that the moment either of
these places is mentioned you get uncomfortable. People might read a
geography-book out loud in my presence and it wouldn't affect me."
She swept out of the room, and Mr. Chalk's thoughts, excited by the magic
word geography, went back to the island again. The half-forgotten dreams
of his youth appeared to be materializing. Sleepy Binchester ended for
him at Dialstone Lane, and once inside the captain's room the enchanted
world beyond the seas was spread before his eager gaze. The captain,
amused at first at his enthusiasm, began to get weary of the subject of
the island, and so far the visitor had begged in vain for a glimpse of
the map.
His enthusiasm became contagious. Prudence, entering one evening in the
middle of a conversation, heard sufficient to induce her to ask for more,
and the captain, not without some reluctance and several promptings from
Mr.
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