lec.
You never look for the best in people."

He gave her a sidelong glance with his pale, blue eyes, but did not
reply. After many years of married life he had learned that it was more
conducive to peace to leave his wife with the last word. He was
undressed before she was, and climbing into the upper bunk he settled
down to read himself to sleep.

When he came on deck next morning they were close to land. He looked at
it with greedy eyes. There was a thin strip of silver beach rising
quickly to hills covered to the top with luxuriant vegetation. The
coconut trees, thick and green, came nearly to the water's edge, and
among them you saw the grass houses of the Samoans; and here and there,
gleaming white, a little church. Mrs Davidson came and stood beside him.
She was dressed in black and wore round her neck a gold chain, from
which dangled a small cross. She was a little woman, with brown, dull
hair very elaborately arranged, and she had prominent blue eyes behind
invisible _pince-nez_. Her face was long, like a sheep's, but she gave
no impression of foolishness, rather of extreme alertness; she had the
quick movements of a bird. The most remarkable thing about her was her
voice, high, metallic, and without inflection; it fell on the ear with a
hard monotony, irritating to the nerves like the pitiless clamour of the
pneumatic drill.

"This must seem like home to you," said Dr Macphail, with his thin,
difficult smile.

"Ours are low islands, you know, not like these. Coral. These are
volcanic. We've got another ten days' journey to reach them."

"In these parts that's almost like being in the next street at home,"
said Dr Macphail facetiously.

"Well, that's rather an exaggerated way of putting it, but one does
look at distances differently in the South Seas. So far you're right."

Dr Macphail sighed faintly.

"I'm glad we're not stationed here," she went on. "They say this is a
terribly difficult place to work in. The steamers' touching makes the
people unsettled; and then there's the naval station; that's bad for the
natives. In our district we don't have difficulties like that to contend
with. There are one or two traders, of course, but we take care to make
them behave, and if they don't we make the place so hot for them they're
glad to go."

Fixing the glasses on her nose she looked at the green island with a
ruthless stare.

"It's almost a hopeless task for the missionaries here. I can never be
suff