"Well, perhaps you may be right as far as that goes, that it's not the
wedded life dreamers have dreamed of, still...."

But it was no good talking to Falkenberg in that style; he understood
never a word.

When we stopped work at noon, I took up the talk again.

"Didn't you say once if he wasn't decent to her there'd be trouble?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, there hasn't been trouble."

"Did I ever say he wasn't decent to her?" said Falkenberg irritably. "No,
but they're sick and wearied of each other--that's what it is. When one
comes in, the other goes out. Whenever he starts talking of anything out
in the kitchen, her eyes go all dead and dull, and she doesn't listen."

We got to work again with the ax, each thinking his own ways.

"I doubt but I'll need to give him a thrashing," said Falkenberg.

"Who?"

"Lukas...."

I got my pipe done, and sent Emma in with it to the Captain. The nail had
turned out fine and natural this time, and with the fine tools I had now,