“And all is over, ha! ha!” the Swiss laughed bitterly. “It is very easy indeed to abandon your unfortunate wife, is it not? I never thought you were such an unscrupulous scoundrel.” “Well, I like that,” Johannes vehemently interrupted. “Here am I, doing my best to counteract the fatal consequences of your absurd and infirm philanthropy. An angel of a girl is thrown across the path of your lordship, and because I have accepted her for you, in the hope of removing the traces of former follies, you coolly reward my services by calling me an unscrupulous scoundrel. Let me tell you then,” he continued with increased passion, “you Europeans are not only the most ungrateful, but also the most impractical beings in creation, thanks to your inflated principles. I am sure the Creator must now and then feel utterly ashamed of the stupidity of the white race.” Johannes appeared supremely handsome in his disdain; his eyes flashed, his nostrils quivered and the veins of his forehead were visible like swollen cords. Schlickeisen now appeared as pacificator, saying, “Don’t feel hurt at an unguarded expression of your companion, which I am positive he did not mean—did you?” “The words were certainly spoken without reflection,” Wienersdorf answered solemnly, “and I will willingly retract them. I was angry at hearing my friend speak so coolly about marriage and divorce in the same breath.” “I only made the remark to remove your impression that marriage meant a compulsory residence in this island. I would feel loath to make a jest of serious subjects, but I sought to convince you how necessary it is for us to yield to unavoidable circumstances. As soon as I find myself among whitefaces I will respect their ideas of marriage and divorce, but while I am among Borneans I accept their customs and institutions.” “But permit me to say that I do exactly the same. I fully respect Dayak customs and nobody will ever reproach me with this want of toleration which you condemn. The people here and everywhere are at liberty to intermarry and separate as much as they choose, provided you leave me out of the question.” “And yet you will have to get reconciled to this marriage,” Johannes answered. “Never!” exclaimed Wienersdorf. “But for once, reason sensibly.” “Reason is out of the question. I will never marry a woman with the knowledge that in a little while I must put her away from me.” “But listen; as matters stand just now, the marriage is unavoidable. You have already seriously offended the Poenan chief during the expiation festival and the mandauws were half unsheathed. Beware of refusing the hand of his sister for he will take terrible vengeance. And I repeat what I observed on a former occasion that if you do not yourself value life you will have to consider us.” “But,” said Wienersdorf, “is not yours an exaggerated supposition. Will the Poenan really take the refusal so seriously?”