"Certainly not." The coincidence of the two ideas exasperated Hector. For two months he had been hardening himself to meet this very ordeal; and already, curse it! he felt himself growing soft. Dimly the voice of conscience told him that his father and brother were in the right. Socially he recognized that he was taking up an impossible position. Nevertheless, as an individual, he intended sticking to that position. All the obstinacy, all the weakness in him combined to reject the obvious solution. Why the devil _should_ he divorce Aliette? _He_ still wanted Aliette--wanted her physically--craved for her with a desire so overpowering that, at times, it drove him almost mad. "Quite apart from your wife's reputation, you know," the admiral returned to his oratorial quarter-deck, "you've got to consider your own. People don't look too kindly on a man who allows his missus to live openly with some one else. And then, both you and he being in the same profession! Take it from me, my boy, it won't do you any good." "It won't do _him_ any good," said Hector viciously. "If I've any influence with the benchers, I'll get the fellow disbarred before the year's out; and if I can't get him disbarred at least I'll take"--he snarled--"other steps." At the snarl, Adrian lost his temper. "I've been trying to talk to you like a brother, Hector," he rapped out, "not like a parson. If you came to me as a parson, I should be bound to tell you that your attitude isn't Christian at all. It's--damn it!--it's Hebraic. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." The elder brother turned on his junior. "Christianity," he sneered. "Is that your Christianity? Free love!" The junior fidgeted with his white collar. "We'll leave my Christianity out of the discussion, if you please." The admiral, also a little hot under the shirt, intervened again. "Christianity or no Christianity, I maintain that you're putting yourself in the wrong. Alie's a decent enough little woman. She's always played the game with you. Even when she ran away with this fellow, she told you about it before she went. She _did_ tell you, didn't she?" "Yes." "What did _you_ say?" "I told her she could go if she wanted to." "You didn't try to restrain her?" "No. I didn't." "Why not? If you felt so strongly about her going off as you pretend to now, why didn't you lock her up in her bedroom? Why didn't you go and see this man Cavendish--knock his head off?" Infuriated, Hector rose to his feet. "I have no wish to be disrespectful, sir," he said to his father, "but my decision is final. I refuse to discuss this matter a minute longer." And to his brother, "As for you, Adrian, I'll thank you not to interfere." Then he moved from the table, swung open the door, and clumped heavily upstairs to his bedroom. * * * * * Left alone, the rear-admiral turned to his younger son. "How's the new baby, Adrian?" "Getting on splendidly, father."