“Yes, go, Helen,” said the Admiral, “and I will give him a good talking to when you are gone. I am half inclined to cashier him and dismiss him from the service.”
“Oh, do not do that,” said Miss Enright, her features relaxing into a smile in spite of her attempts to retain her stern composure. “You know the Lieutenant and I are sworn enemies and have been since we left Malta, where we disagreed as to the sentiments which inspired the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Besides, his crime is one that calls for education rather than condign punishment.”
After throwing this Parthian arrow, she left the room.
“Why do you like to plague Helen so?” asked the Admiral.
“I don’t enjoy the plaguing part, but my jibes always stir her up, and I cannot but admire the manner in which she conducts both attack and defence.”
“I have given her all the education she asked for,” said the Admiral, “but I sometimes wonder what would become of the world if all the women in it knew as much as Helen does.”
“I don’t think that day will ever come,” said Victor. “If it does, women will become the teachers and men the students.”
“But will they ever learn to command a frigate?” asked the Admiral.
“If women ever rule the world,” replied Victor, “there will be no need of either frigates, or armies, or wars. All vexed questions will be settled by diplomacy, and no male diplomat can hope to compete successfully with a woman in that line of business.”
“What kind of a place is it that Batistelli lives in?” asked the Admiral.