Page:The Inheritors, An Extravagant Story.djvu/257

 odious man's railway must go through, it is in the interests of the country that it should. I tell them. . ."

She paused for a minute to take breath and then went on: "I was speaking to a man of that class only this morning, rather an intelligent man and quite nice—I was saying, 'Don't you see, my dear Mr. Tull, that it is a question of international politics. If the grand duke does not get the money for his railway, the grand duke will be turned out of his—what is it—principality? And that would be most dangerous—in the present condition of affairs over there, and besides . . .' The man listened very respectfully, but I could see that he was not convinced. I buckled to again . ..

"'And besides,' I said, 'there is the question of Greenland itself. We English must have Greenland . . . sooner or later. It touches you, even. You have a son who's above—who doesn't care for life in a country town, and you want to send him abroad—with a little capital. Well, Greenland is just the place for him.' The man looked at me, and almost shook his head in my face.