"Came in," replied Ronald, laconically.
"Don't you know enough to rap?" asked Mrs. Franklin, angrily. Like others who have been christened "Mary," she was irritated beyond measure at that meaningless perversion of her name.
"Did rap," answered George, selecting the most comfortable chair, "but nobody heard me, so I let myself in."
"How dare you call me 'Kitty'?" exclaimed Mrs. Howard.
"Soldiers aren't afraid of anything except the War Department."
"How long have you been here?" they asked simultaneously.
"Don't all speak at once. I've been here a long, long time—so long, in fact, that I'm hungry." He looked past them as he spoke and gazed pensively out of the window.
Mrs. Franklin's cheeks were blazing and her eyes snapped. "You're the very worst man I ever met," she said.
The Ensign sighed heavily. "And yet I've never been accused of mulishness," he remarked, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, "nor of jealousy," he added. His mouth was twitching, and the women exchanged glances.
"I admit an enormous appetite," he continued. "Wonder if it's the ravages of the tender passion?"