"How did he explain it?" "Well, as nearly as I can remember, he said that he dreaded to have his mind begin making itself up. It's like a runaway horse that you can't stop. He said he might see that he was wrong and he might want to do differently, but something inside of him wouldn't let him. It seems that his mind suddenly crystallises, and then it's over. A crystal can be broken, but it can't be made liquid again." "Is his mind liquid?" inquired Katherine, choked with laughter. "No--I wish it was. I'm glad you're amused, but I'm too close to it to see the fun in it. Wasn't your husband ever stubborn?" "No; I don't think so--at least, I don't remember. I suppose he can't help being jealous any more than the Captain can help being mulish. I guess they're just born so." "Marked," suggested Mrs. Franklin. "Yes--marked. I hadn't thought of that. Before we were married, Ralph was jealous of everybody who spoke to me--man, woman, or brute. I couldn't even pet the cat or talk to the dog." "Matrimonial traits," observed the Captain's wife, sagely, "are the result of pre-nuptial tendencies. If you look carefully into the subject before you're married, you can see about what you're coming to." "I guess that's right. I needn't have expected marriage to cure Ralph of jealousy, but, like you, I supposed it was love." "My dear," said Mrs. Franklin, with feeling, "many a woman mistakes the flaws in a man's character for the ravages of the tender passion--before marriage." "Well, I never!" said a soft voice behind them. "Kitty and Mamie talking scandal!" Both women jumped. "How did you get in?" demanded Mrs. Howard. "Came in," replied Ronald, laconically. "Don't you know enough to rap?" asked Mrs. Franklin, angrily. Like others who have been christened "Mary," she was irritated beyond measure at that meaningless perversion of her name. "Did rap," answered George, selecting the most comfortable chair, "but nobody heard me, so I let myself in." "How dare you call me 'Kitty'?" exclaimed Mrs. Howard. "Soldiers aren't afraid of anything except the War Department." "How long have you been here?" they asked simultaneously. "Don't all speak at once. I've been here a long, long time--so long, in fact, that I'm hungry." He looked past them as he spoke and gazed pensively out of the window. Mrs. Franklin's cheeks were blazing and her eyes snapped. "You're the very worst man I ever met," she said. The Ensign sighed heavily. "And yet I've never been accused of mulishness," he remarked, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, "nor of jealousy," he added. His mouth was twitching, and the women exchanged glances. "I admit an enormous appetite," he continued. "Wonder if it's the ravages of the tender passion?" Mrs. Howard brought in a plate of cookies and set it ostentatiously within his reach. "Lovely woman!" apostrophised George. "She feeds me! Radiant vision, will you be mine?" There was a dead silence.