Slowly still, but as though at the urge of a compelled abandon, Chiquita sank lower and lower.  Nearer she came and nearer.  The pollen from the flowers at her breast sifted on to his face.  Now their eyes were level.  And now -.

She kissed him.

Billy, Ralph, and Pete sat on the sand bantering Honey, who had returned in radiant spirits from his walk.

“Here comes old Frank,” Billy said.  “He’s running.  But he’s staggering.  By George, I should think he was drunk.”

Frank was drunk, but not with wine.  When he came nearer, they saw that his face was white.

“You’re right boys,” he said quietly, “and I’m wrong.”  For a moment, he added nothing; but they knew what he meant.  “A situation like this is special; it requires special laws.  It’s the masculine right of eminent domain.  I give my consent — I — I — I — I agree to anything you want to do.”

IV

“The question before the house now is,” said Ralph, “how are we going to do it?  Myself, I’d be strong for winging them sometime when they’re flying low.”

The other four men burst into shocked remonstrance.

“Well, don’t go up in the air,” Ralph said in an amused voice.  “It wouldn’t hurt them any.  And it seems to me if we’ve definitely made up our minds to capture them, the best way is the swiftest and surest.”

“But to shoot a woman!” Pete exclaimed.

“Well, don’t worry,” Ralph answered him, “we haven’t any guns.  I did think of bows and arrows, though.”  He said this in the tone of one who throws out a suggestion and he stopped to study the faces of his fellow conspirators.  Equally they expressed horror and disgust.  “All right,” he said with equanimity.  “I see you’re like all human nature.  You’re determined to pull off this caveman stunt, but you want to do it with every appearance of chivalry and generosity.  You’re saving face.  All right!  I’m agreeable — although personally I think the quickest way the most merciful.  Has anybody a better plan? "

Nobody had.  It was obvious, though, from the talk that followed, that they had all been secretly considering the matter.

“The only thing for us to do,” Honey said at once, “is to lie in wait.  Conceal ourselves in the bushes and leap out on them.”

“That sounds easy,” Ralph said.  “But has it occurred to you that these girls have the ears of wild animals?  Has it occurred to you that they have all the instincts and cunning of the animal and all the intuition and prescience of the woman?  Has it occurred to you that they always approach from above?”

“The only thing I can think of,” said Billy, “is to lasso them.  Only we’ve got to get them to alight and walk round first.  But either they can’t walk or they don’t like to walk.  We must off offer them some bait.  Now, what in thunder would tempt a creature that’s one-third woman, one-third bird, and one-third angel to come down to earth?”