Valentine Williams

“ We were side by side on the ledge with our backs to the pillar, and as she spoke she stretched forth her hand and pointed across the valley. Above the jagged crests of various isolated peaks in the foreground a gigantic solitary image raised its tall black form against the deep azure of the ocean which was spread out to the horizon. Its back set to the sea, its features, stern and enigmatic in expression, turned towards us, and, clearly visible in that transparent atmosphere, it dominated the little rocky plateau on which it stood, dwarfing the tremendous blocks of stone strewn about its base. ”

“ It curved round the face of the rock, a mere shelf not more than two paces wide, but slanting inwards, which improved one's foothold. From it the face of the cliff dropped sheer to the nullah hundreds of feet below. I ventured a peep over the side and my brain fairly swam; for I am no hand at heights. From somewhere above us a great bird suddenly went up with a vast flutter and, with a few strokes of its powerful wings, propelled itself through the air until, level with us, it hovered motionless at an immense height above the stony valley. ”

“ But Marjorie laughed merrily.
“You're too delightful for words,” she said. “Why, my dear man, if you understood women you'd have...”
She broke off hastily and added:
“There are only two kinds of men: those who say they do understand women and don't, and those who admit they don't and don't. But all the same, don't you think it's rather insulting to one's intelligence to find a man locking up his secrets in his heart simply because he's read or heard somewhere that woman is not to be trusted?” ”