Page:Stanwood Pier--The ancient grudge.djvu/277

266 thought that no one who did not belong to the Brahmin caste should aspire to marry one who did. She was great on the Brahmin caste."

"It would be quite a job to define the Brahmin caste of Avalon," said Floyd.

"We simply could n't bother with it. We'd have to leave it to Tom Gary. And that, of course, was the great objection to Greraldine's solution."

"I suppose the question really narrowed down very soon to this: 'When is a man justified in asking one of us to marry him.'"

"Certainly," said Marion. "Almost immediately. And being a coarse, indelicate person I was for letting pretty much anybody speak, so long as he was in love. But most of the others agreed that one had to consider the man's social position and income. Here in Avalon you can't talk very long without getting on the subject of money. Most, of the girls decided that a man had no business to mention marriage until he actually had enough money to marry on. Then the real debate began. What was enough to marry on—what income? Everybody was afraid to show her hand—they all wanted to draw one another out; of course nobody wanted to seem willing to be bid in for less than her neighbor." "I see," said Floyd, with a laugh. "But are n't you all terribly hard on the men? Has a fellow got to bring his check-book in his pocket when he comes to propose to a girl? Can't he take it for granted that if she cares for him, she'll be willing to wait a while?"

"Oh, when you ask me, I'm an anarchist on the subject. And Adelaide Ward seemed sort of glad that I felt as I did; you know Jim Henderson's been attentive to Adelaide, and Jim has n't a cent. But the others were all pronounced in favor of the income. The minimum that any one seemed willing to accept was five thousand a year."

"Supposing the girl had some money of her own,"