第31章 CHAPTER VII THE GIRL OF THE WOOD LOT(5)

"I entirely agree with you, Miss Gwynne, that war is utterly horrible, that it is silly, that it is wicked. I would rather not discuss it with you, but I can't help feeling that there are circumstances that make it necessary and right for men to fight.""You don't wish to discuss this with me?" said Kathleen. "I am sorry, for I have always wished to hear a soldier who is also"--the girl hesitated for a moment--"a gentleman and a Christian--""Thank you, Miss Gwynne," said Romayne, with quiet earnestness.

"Discuss the reasons why war is ever necessary.""It is a very big subject," said Mr. Romayne, "and some day Ishould like to give you my point of view. There are multitudes of people in Britain to-day, Miss Gwynne, who would agree with you.

Lots of books have been written on both sides. I have listened to hours and hours of discussion, so that you can easily see that there is much to be said on both sides. I always come back, however, to the point that among nations of similar ethical standards and who are equally anxious to preserve the peace of the world, arbitration as a method of settling disputes ought to be perfectly simple and easy. It is only when you have to deal with nations whose standards of ethics are widely dissimilar or who are possessed with another ambition than that of preserving the peace of the world that you get into difficulty.""I see your point," replied Kathleen, "but I also see that just there you allow for all sorts of prejudice to enter and for the indulgence in unfair argument and special pleading. But there, we are finished," she said, "and you do not wish to discuss this just now.""Some time, Miss Gwynne, we shall have this out, and I have some literature on the subject that I should like to give you.""And so have I," cried the girl, with a smile that rendered Mr. Romayne for some moments quite incapable of consecutive thought.

"And now shall we look up the others?"

At the dump they found Joe and Sam rolling the logs, which during the winter had been piled high upon the bank, down the steep declivity or "dump" into the stream below. Mrs. Waring-Gaunt and Nora were seated on a log beside them engaged in talk.

"May I inquire if you are bossing the job as usual?" said Mr. Romayne, after he had watched the operation for a few moments.

"Oh, no, there's no bossing going on to-day. But," said the girl, "I rather think the boys like to have me around.""I don't wonder," said Mr. Romayne, enthusiastically.

"Are you making fun of me, Mr. Romayne?" said the girl, her face indicating that she was prepared for battle.

"God forbid," replied Mr. Romayne, fervently.

"Not a bit of it, Nora dear," said his sister. "He is simply consumed with envy. He has just come from a country, you know, where only the men do things; I mean things that really count. And it makes him furiously jealous to see a young woman calmly doing things that he knows quite well he could not attempt to do.""Quite true," replied her brother. "I am humbled to the ground at my own all to obvious ineptitude, and am lost in admiration of the marvellous efficiency of the young ladies of Canada whom it has been my good fortune to meet."Nora glanced at him suspiciously. "You talk well," she said. "Ihalf believe you're just making fun of us."

"Not a bit, Nora, not a bit," said his sister. "It is as I have said before. The man is as jealous as he can be, and, like all men, he hates to discover himself inferior in any particular to a woman. But we must be going. I am so glad you are home again, dear," she said, turning to Kathleen. "We shall hope to see a great deal of you. Thank you for the delightful lunch. It was so good of you to have us.""Yes, indeed," added the young man. "You saved my life. I had just about reached the final stage of exhaustion. I, too, hope to see you again very soon and often, for you know we must finish that discussion and settle that question.""What question is that," inquired his sister, "if I may ask?""Oh, the old question," said her brother, "the eternal question--war."

"I suppose," said Nora, "Kathleen has been giving you some of her peace talk. I want you to know, Mr. Romayne, that I don't agree with her in the least, and I am quite sure you don't either.""I am not so sure of that," replied the young man. "We have not finished it out yet. I feel confident, however, that we shall come to an agreement on it.""I hope not," replied Nora, "for in that case you would become a pacifist, for Kathleen, just like mother, you know, is a terrible peace person. Indeed, our family is divided on that question--Daddy and I opposed to the rest. And you know pacifists have this characteristic, that they are always ready to fight.""Yes," said her sister. "We are always ready to fight for peace.

But do not let us get into that discussion now. I shall walk with you a little way."Arm in arm she and Mrs. Waring-Gaunt walked down the steep trail, Mr. Romayne following behind, leading the horses. As they walked together, Mrs. Waring-Gaunt talked to the girl of her brother.

"You know he was in the Diplomatic Service, went in after the South African War, and did awfully well there in the reconstruction work, was very popular with the Boers, though he had fought them in the war. He got to know their big men, and some of them are really big men. As a matter of fact, he became very fond of them and helped the Government at Home to see things from their point of view.