"You haven't any faults," put in the Captain's wife, sweetly. "There would be nothing to discuss." "True, Mamie, I had forgotten that. Thank you for reminding me of my perfection. But you know what I mean. As soon as I got out of sight of the house, she'd gallop over to her friend's, and her friend would say: 'Good-morning, Mrs. Ronald, you don't look fit this morning. What has that mean thing done to you now?'" Throwing himself thoroughly into the part, the Ensign got up and proceeded to give an elaborate monologue, in falsetto, punctuated with mincing steps and frequent rearrangement of an imaginary coiffure. Mrs. Howard clasped her hands at her waist and the tears rolled down Mrs. Franklin's cheeks. "And then she'd say," Ronald went on, "'Just suppose you had to live with a mulish, jealous man who wouldn't give you more than nine dresses and eleven bonnets and four pairs of shoes. Yes, that's just what the horrid thing has done. And this morning, when I asked for money to get a few clothes, so I could look more respectable, he gave me some, but I caught him keeping back fifty-two cents. Now, what do you think of that? Do you suppose he's going to take a lot of men out and get 'em all drunk?'" The entrance of Captain Franklin put an end to the inspired portrayal of wifely devotion. As Katherine had said, he did not look stubborn. On the contrary, he seemed to be the mildest sort of a man, for he was quiet and unobtrusive in manner. His skin was very white, and the contrast of his jet-black hair and mustache made him look pale. "Did you tell them the news?" he asked Ronald. "'Pon my word, Captain, I haven't had time. They've been chattering so ever since I came in that I'm nearly deaf with it. You tell 'em." "I don't know as you'd call it news," said the Captain; "but we can't afford to ignore any incident out here. A Kickapoo runner has come in from the Illinois River, and he says the pack-trains are about to start from there and from the Kankakee, and that they will be here soon." "It's an early Spring," remarked Mrs. Franklin. "I'm glad," said Katherine; "I love to be outdoors, and the Winters in this lonesome little Fort are almost unbearable." "What?" asked Ronald, "with me here?" "Drill to-morrow," said the Captain, turning to his subordinate. The Ensign saluted gravely, but made no reply. The Captain lingered a few moments, listening while the others talked. "Are you going home, Mary?" he asked. "Yes, after a while. I'll go now if you want me to." "No; never mind. I've got some things to see to." "Now that," observed Ronald, as the Captain closed the door, "is what I call a true marriage." "In what way?" asked Mrs. Franklin.