"Bother, I suppose it will," said Celia, and very reluctantly she took one star off each shoulder,

leaving the matter—so:

* *

And the years rolled on….

And I am still a Second Lieutenant….

I do not complain; indeed I am even rather proud of it. If I am not gaining on my original one star, at least I am keeping pace with it. I might so easily have been a corporal by now.

But I should like to have seen a little more notice taken of me in the "Gazette." I scan it every day, hoping for some such announcement as this:

"Second Lieutenant M —— to remain a Second Lieutenant."

Or this:

"Second Lieutenant M —— to be seconded and to retain his present rank of Second Lieutenant."