CHAPTER IV
RONALD'S VIEWS OF MARRIAGE
Mrs. Howard was trying to sew, but seemed to lack the necessary energy. The Lieutenant paced the room in his favourite attitude—hands crossed behind his back—and gave her his views upon various topics, from the mistakes of the War Department at Washington to the criminal mismanagement of Captain Franklin. He became so interested in this last subject that he spoke as if addressing a large audience, happily unmindful of the fact that his single listener was preoccupied.
"Upon my word, Kit," he was saying, "there isn't a man in barracks who wouldn't make a better Captain than the one we've got."
"His wife is coming," remarked Katherine, impersonally.
"I don't care if she is. Somebody ought to tell him where he stands in the estimation of the officers and men."