ickled
pig's feet, beet-and-onion salad, stewed prunes, damson jam, and tea as
harsh as an east wind. He loitered over the second cup, while the second
steward passed behind him with a napkin, eager for him to finish, for
that gentleman intended to gorge, while Archy Bates was indisposed, on
pig's feet and pickled walnuts. Mr. Spokesly loitered because he knew,
when he was once again in his own cabin, that he would be facing a
problem which makes all men, except artists and scoundrels, uneasy. The
problem was Ada. He did not want to think about Ada, a girl who was in
an unassailable position as far as he was concerned. He wanted her to
stay where she was, in beleaguered England, until he was ready to go
back, until he had regained command of himself. He rose up suddenly and
went along to his cabin. His idea was that Ada should wait for him, wait
while he went through this extraordinary experience. His mind even went
forward and planned the episode. He would get the money in Alexandria,
get out of the ship somehow, return to Saloniki ... and when the war was
over he would of course return to England and find Ada waiting for him.
It was an admirable scheme and more frequently carried out than Mr.
Spokesly was aware. Yet he was secretly ashamed. He had also a vague,
illogical notion that, after all, he was not contemplating any real
infidelity to Ada since he fully intended to return to her. He was very
confused in his mind. He was not accustomed to such crises. He took up
the little green pamphlets of the London School of Mnemonics. An
aphorism caught his eye. _Be sure your chin will find you out._ The idea
was expanded in an essay on forcefulness of character. The theory
propounded was that we have all of us a minute germ of character force
which by exercise and correct training can be developed into a
formidable engine for the acquisition of power, position, and wealth.
Another aphorism ran: _Train the muscles of your mind._ Just as the use
of dumb-bells brought out rippling rolls of muscle under a satin skin,
so the use of the Mnemonic method of Intensive Excogitation rounded out
the sinews of the mind and gave a glistening polish to the conversation.
Above all, it augmented one's cerebral vitality. One became a forceful
personality and exerted a magnetic influence over women....

Mr. Spokesly's feet hurt him slightly. He went along to the pantry and
ordered a bucket of hot water, and proceeded to go the rounds of the