"What does Captain Ganoe think of the decision of the Council and the general consensus of the opinions of those most interested, that you should have your own way about the journey and go alone if you thought best? While he did not object, I felt quite sure that he did not approve." "His heart," I said, "was very much set on going himself and he expresses grave fears as to my safety, notwithstanding my excursions into the stormy regions in the vicinity of the southern verge. He knows however that it was with his consent and advice that the entire matter of opening communication with the outer world was placed in my hands and I accepted the responsibility under protest. The Council regarded my proposed expedition as too perilous to risk more than one life in the attempt. But this you know is just what I wanted for reasons of my own. As a matter of fact there is less danger than in my excursions to the southern verge. I wonder sometimes what the Captain would think if he knew that it was the little girl playmate of his boyhood days and the affianced bride of his early manhood who was bidding him adieu!" "And do you not intend," asked Oqua, "to reveal your identity to him in some way so that when you return, no concealments will be necessary? You know that we penetrated your disguise at once but we respected your natural right to conceal your identity, and we shall continue to do so until you are willing for us to do otherwise. But I would suggest, as an act of justice to Captain Ganoe as well as to yourself, that you ought to let him know who you are. It will doubtless awaken in his mind a train of thought that will be very beneficial to him, while it will protect you from the deteriorating effects of leading a double life." "But," I said, "this double life was forced upon me by causes over which I had no control and hence I do not see how it can have any deteriorating effects." "That was no doubt true," interrupted Bona Dea, "in the present stage of your outer world civilization, but there is no necessity for it here. And the necessity being past, the continuance of the deception might be interpreted to mean that deep down in your soul you doubted the propriety of your conduct. Disguise is perfectly legitimate as a means of self protection, but when it is unnecessary, its tendency is to cultivate duplicity, a characteristic to be carefully avoided. Hence I would advise you to adopt some method of revealing your identity to Captain Ganoe at the moment of your departure; and the more open and frank you are about it, the better will be the effect on him as well as your self. Better not wait until he penetrates your disguise for himself, something he would have done long ago, but for the fact that from his education, he is guided by external appearances instead of those more subtle impressions from which there can be no concealments."