He could command her to return; he could take the _Flibberty-Gibbet_ away from her; he could dissolve their partnership;--any and all of which he knew would be foolish and futile, and he could hear her explain in terse set terms that she was legally of age and that nobody could say come or go to her.

No, his pride would never permit him to start for Poonga-Poonga, though his heart whispered that nothing could be more welcome than a message from her asking him to come and lend a hand.

Her very words--"lend a hand"; and in his fancy, he could see and hear her saying them.
There was much in her wilful conduct that caused him to wince in the heart of him.

He was appalled by the thought of her shoulder to shoulder with the drunken rabble of traders and beachcombers at Guvutu.

It was bad enough for a clean, fastidious man; but for a young woman, a girl at that, it was awful.