"Did ye not say just now that I was flesh and blood?' sez I. 'I have not changed since,' I sez; an' I kep' my arm where ut was. "'Your arms to yoursilf!' sez she, an' her eyes sparkild. "'Sure, 'tis only human nature,' sez I, an' I kep' my arm where ut was. "'Nature or no nature,' sez she, 'you take your arm away or I'll tell Bragin, an' he'll alter the nature av your head. Fwhat d'you take me for?' she sez. "'A woman,' sez I; 'the prettiest in barricks.' "'A _wife_,' sez she; 'the straightest in cantonmints!' "Wid that I dropped my arm, fell back tu paces, an' saluted, for I saw that she mint fwhat she said." "Then you know something that some men would give a good deal to be certain of. How could you tell?" I demanded in the interests of Science. "Watch the hand," said Mulvaney; "av she shut her hand tight, thumb down over the knuckle, take up your hat an' go. You'll only make a fool av yoursilf av you shtay. But av the hand lies opin on the lap, or av you see her thryin' to shut ut, an' she can't,--go on! She's not past reasonin' wid. "Well, as I was sayin', I fell back, saluted, an' was goin' away. "'Shtay wid me,' she sez. 'Look! He's comin' again.' "She pointed to the veranda, an' by the Hoight av Impart'nince, the Corp'ril man was comin' out av Bragin's quarters. "'He's done that these five evenin's past,' sez Annie Bragin. 'Oh, fwhat will I do!' "'He'll not do ut again,' sez I, for I was fightin' mad. "Kape way from a man that has been a thrifle crossed in love till the fever's died down. He rages like a brute beast. "I wint up to the man in the veranda, manin', as sure as I sit, to knock the life out av him. He slipped into the open. 'Fwhat are you doin' philanderin' about here, ye scum av the gutter?' sez I polite, to give him his warnin', for I wanted him ready. "He niver lifted his head, but sez, all mournful an' melancolius, as if he thought I wud be sorry for him: 'I can't find her,' sez he. "'My troth,' sez I, 'you've lived too long--you an' your seekin's an' findin's in a dacint married woman's quarters! Hould up your head, ye frozen thief av Genesis,' sez I, 'an' you'll find all you want an' more!' "But he niver hild up, an' I let go from the shoulder to where the hair is short over the eyebrows.