ageit?'shesaid.'Madam,'Ianswered,'it'sthesimplestthingintheworld.Ikeepregularhours,andIwearflannelnexttomyskin.'"
"Come,come,UncleWilliam,"saidJames,withasmile."Youdidn'tmentionyourunderlinentoalady!"
"Uponmyword,I'mtellingyouexactlywhatIsaid."
"You'reveryfreeinyourconversation."
"Well,youknow,Ifindthewomenexpectitfromme.Ofcourse,Inevergobeyondtheline."
ThenMajorForsythtalkedofthefashions,andofhisclothes,ofthescandaloftheday,andtheancestryofthepersonsconcerned,ofthewar.
"Youcansaywhatyoulike,"heremarked,"butmyopinionisthatRobertsisvastlyoverrated.ImetattheclubtheotherdayamanwhosefirstcousinhasservedunderRobertsinIndia—hisfirstcousin,mindyou,soit'sgoodauthority—andthischaptoldme,instrictconfidence,ofcourse,thathisfirstcousinhadnoopinionofRoberts.That'swhatamansayswhohasactuallyservedunderhim."
"Itiscertainlyconclusive,"saidJames."Iwonderyourfriend'sfirstcousindidn'tgototheWarOfficeandprotestagainstBobsbeingsentout."
"What'sthegoodofgoingtotheWarOffice?They'reallcorruptandincompetentthere.IfIhadmyway,I'dmakeacleansweepofthem.Talkingofred-tape,I'lljustgiveyouaninstance.Now,thisisafact.Itwastoldmebythebrother-in-lawoftheuncleofthemanithappenedto."
MajorForsythtoldhisstoryatgreatlength,finishingupwiththeassertionthatifthearmywasn'tgoingtothedogs,hedidn'tknowwhatgoingtothedogsmeant.
James,meanwhile,catchingtheglanceswhichpassedbetweenhismotherandColonelParsons,understoodthattheywerethinkingofthegreatsubjectuponwhichUncleWilliamwastobeconsulted.Halfscornfullyhegavethemtheiropportunity.
"I'mgoingforastroll,"hesaid,"throughGroombridge.Ishan'tbebacktilldinner-time."
"Howlucky!"remarkedColonelParsonsnaively,whenJameshadgone."Wewantedtotalkwithyouprivately,William.You'reamanoftheworld."
"Ithinkthere'snotmuchthatIdon'tknow,"repliedtheMajor,shootinghislinen.
"Tellhim,Frances."
Mrs.Parsons,accustomedtothepartofspokeswoman,gavehertale,interruptednowandagainbyalongwhistlewithwhichtheMajorsignifiedhisshre