“I cut up the Silverton ball so,” he said, as he addressed the tee, “that I’m ashamed of myself.  I may not play any better with this doughnut, but it will never show the marks of the irons as a bit of mere gutta-percha would.”

“If you feel that way about Ellen,” Mrs. Brinley observed, just as Brinley was about to drive off with a real ball, “I don’t see why you don’t discharge her.”

Brinley took his eye off the ball to look indignantly upon his wife, and consequently foozled.

“Discharge her?  Why should I discharge her?” he demanded, his temper growing as he observed where he had landed his ball.  “I’m not running the house, my dear.  You are.  I didn’t ask you to tell Miss Flossie Fairfax that, as she couldn’t spell, she was no longer useful as a stenographer in the office of Brinley & Rutherford.  Why should you ask me to tell a cook that her services are no longer required in the establishment of Brinley & Brinley, of which you are the manager?”

“It isn’t easy to discharge a girl,” Mrs. Brinley began.  “Particularly a quarrelsome woman like Ellen.”

“Oh, that’s it,” said Brinley.  “You are afraid of her.”

“Not exactly,” said Mrs. Brinley.  “But—­”

“Of course, if you are afraid of her, I’ll get rid of her,” persisted Brinley, valiantly.  “Just wait until we get home.  I’ll show you a thing or two when it comes to ridding one’s self of an unfaithful servant.  The steak this morning looked like a stake that martyrs had been burned at, and I am not afraid to say so.”

And so it was decided that Brinley, on his return home, should interview Ellen and inform her that her services would not be required after the first of the month.  “Now let’s play golf,” he said.  “I’ll settle Ellen in a minute.  Fore!”

How Brinley fulfilled his promise is best shown by his talk with Mrs. Brinley the next morning when, somewhat red of face, he rejoined her in the dining-room after his interview with Ellen.

“Well?” said Mrs. Brinley.

“It’s all right,” Brinley replied, with an uneasy glance at his wife.  “She’s going to stay.”

“Going to stay?” echoed Mrs. Brinley, her eyes opening wide in a very natural astonishment.  “Why, I thought you were going to discharge her?”

“Well—­I was,” he said, haltingly.  “I was, of course.  That’s what I went down for—­but—­er—­you know, my dear, that there are two sides to every question.”

“Even to Ellen’s biscuits?” Mrs. Brinley laughed.

“Never mind that.  She’s going to do better,” said Brinley.  “You’ll find that hereafter we’ve got a cook, and not an incendiary nor a forger of armor-plate.”

“And may I ask how this wonderful reform has been worked in the brief space of ten minutes?” asked Mrs. Brinley.  “Have you hypnotized her?”

“No,” said Brinley.  Then he looked rather sheepishly out of the window.  “I’ve given her an incentive to do better.  I’ve increased her wages.”