Milly interrupted. "Tell us about your battles!" she pleaded.
"My what?" said the admiral, taken aback.
"The ones you fought in," said Milly coaxingly.
"Bless the child! I've never been in a battle in my life; what battles have there been in my time, I'd like to know!"
Milly looked crestfallen. "But you were on a battleship," she protested.
The admiral opened his mouth and guffawed. "God bless my soul, what's that got to do with it?"
They had made their way downstairs again now and were walking towards the garden door. Milly clung to her point.
"It ought to have something to do with it, I should suppose," she said rather pompously.
The admiral looked suddenly grave. "It will, some day," he said.
"When will it be?" asked Joan; she felt interested.