The door was open, and Jermyn was standing in front of a large blackboard covered with marks which reminded Trixy of the geometrical puzzles which her father sometimes cut from cardboard for her. The instructors and the other officers were looking at the board, and Jermyn was talking, so no one noticed the little girl in the doorway, and Trixy was beginning to feel embarrassed. Suddenly an officer, who had children of his own, attracted attention by coughing violently. Every one looked at him, and he, in turn, looked toward the door.
"Are you the teacher of this school?" asked Trixy of the one officer who sat apart from the others.
"Eh? Oh—yes, what is it?"
"Lieutenant Jermyn, one of your scholars?"
"Er—Mr. Jermyn, do you resent the implication?"
"Not for an instant, Captain."
"Well, little girl, what is it?"
"Oh, only if you'd let him out, there's a couple of ladies who'd like to see him very much; I know they would, because one of them said so."
The only really young lieutenant in the room giggled; the others smiled, and the instructor, after regarding the blackboard intently a moment, said: