ar. It must be a great place in which to bring up
children, judging by all the Australians one sees."

"Possibly--but a man with a damaged hand isn't wanted there," Major
Hunt said curtly.

"Oh, you'll be all right long before we want to go out," was his
wife's cheerful response. But there was a shadow in her eyes.

Wally did not notice any shadow. He had hero-worshipped Major Hunt in
his first days of soldiering, when that much-enduring officer, a Mons
veteran with the D.S.O. to his credit, had been chiefly responsible
for the training of newly-joined subalterns: and Major Hunt, in his
turn, had liked the two Australian boys, who, whatever their faults of
carelessness or ignorance, were never anything but keen. Now, in his
delight at meeting his senior officer again, Wally chattered away like
a magpie, asking questions, telling Irish fishing-stories, and other
stories of adventures in Ireland, hazarding wild opinions about the
war, and generally manifesting a cheerful disregard of the fact that
the tired man opposite him was not a subaltern as irresponsible as
himself. Somehow, the weariness died out of Major Hunt's eyes. He
began to joke in his turn, and to tell queer yarns of the trenches:
and presently, indeed, the whole party seemed to be infected by the
same spirit, so that the old walls of the _Cheshire Cheese_ echoed
laughter that must have been exceedingly discouraging to the ghost of
Dr. Johnson, if, as is said, that unamiable maker of dictionaries
haunts his ancient tavern.

"Well, you've made us awfully cheerful," said Major Hunt, when dinner
was over, and they were dawdling over coffee. "Stella and I were
feeling rather down on our luck, I believe, when you appeared, and now
we've forgotten all about it. Do you always behave like this, Miss
Linton?"

"No, I have to be very sedate, or I'd never keep my big family in
order," said Norah, laughing. "You've no idea what a responsibility
they are."

"Haven't I?" said he. "You forget I have a houseful of my own."

"Tell me about them," Norah asked. "Do you keep them in order?"

"We say we do, for the sake of discipline, but I'm not too sure about
it," said Mrs. Hunt. "As a matter of fact, I am very strict, but
Douglas undoes all my good work. Is it really true that he is strict
in the regiment, Mr. Jim?"

Jim and Wally shuddered.

"I'd find it easier to tell you if he wasn't here," Jim said. "There
are awful memories, aren't there, Wal?"