"Of course, if you are afraid of her, I'll get rid of her," persisted Brinley, valiantly. "Just wait until we get home. I'll show you a thing or two when it comes to ridding one's self of an unfaithful servant. The steak this morning looked like a stake that martyrs had been burned at, and I am not afraid to say so." And so it was decided that Brinley, on his return home, should interview Ellen and inform her that her services would not be required after the first of the month. "Now let's play golf," he said. "I'll settle Ellen in a minute. Fore!" How Brinley fulfilled his promise is best shown by his talk with Mrs. Brinley the next morning when, somewhat red of face, he rejoined her in the dining-room after his interview with Ellen. "Well?" said Mrs. Brinley. "It's all right," Brinley replied, with an uneasy glance at his wife. "She's going to stay." "Going to stay?" echoed Mrs. Brinley, her eyes opening wide in a very natural astonishment. "Why, I thought you were going to discharge her?" "Well--I was," he said, haltingly. "I was, of course. That's what I went down for--but--er--you know, my dear, that there are two sides to every question." "Even to Ellen's biscuits?" Mrs. Brinley laughed. "Never mind that. She's going to do better," said Brinley. "You'll find that hereafter we've got a cook, and not an incendiary nor a forger of armor-plate." "And may I ask how this wonderful reform has been worked in the brief space of ten minutes?" asked Mrs. Brinley. "Have you hypnotized her?" "No," said Brinley. Then he looked rather sheepishly out of the window. "I've given her an incentive to do better. I've increased her wages." Mrs. Brinley gazed at him silently in open-mouthed wonder for a full half-minute. "You did what?" asked Mrs. Brinley. "I told her we'd give her twenty dollars a month instead of sixteen," said Brinley. "You needn't laugh," he added. "I began very severely. Asked her what she meant by ignoring our wishes as to hours. I dilated forcefully upon her apparent fondness for burning steaks to a crisp, and sending broiled chicken to the table looking as if somebody had dropped a flat-iron on them." "Good!" exclaimed Mrs. Brinley. "And what did she say? Was she impertinent?" "Not a bit of it," said Brinley "She took it very nicely until I spoke of the muffins, after which I had intended to give her notice to quit, but she took the wind completely out of my sails by asking me what I expected at sixteen dollars a month." "Ah!" said Mrs. Brinley. "Exactly," said Brinley. "That was a point I had not considered at all. After all, she was right. What can you expect for sixteen dollars?" "Well, what next?" asked Mrs. Brinley, her eyes a-twinkle. "I asked her if she thought she could do better on twenty dollars," he answered. "She thought she could, and that's the way it stands now."