“Naturally he hates it. So does the dog; but he gets the right habits eventually and doesn’t spoil the shooting by a lot of barking and prancing around. There’s not a flaw in my theory, my dear. Of course, I am sorry we must do this. I don’t like to treat my boy like a dog. But we must face the fact. He is a dog. He has got himself into the ditch; and we mustn’t mind the mire—we must get him out. You wait in patience, my dear; we shall see.”
That “we shall see” made Geraldine determined. To the great relief of the mother she seemed to drop the subject altogether.
“That man overboard,” she suggested.
“Yes; horrible, wasn’t it?”
“They say he deliberately threw himself over the side and struggled and fought against a rescue.”
“Why should he do that?”
“He was trying to kill himself.”
“Who says so!”
“Richard.”
“What does Richard know about it?”