At the table there was another woman who had hair three times as white as hair can be, the Colonel thought she, also, had a pleasant face. There were two other women whose faces meant nothing to the Colonel.
'Are they lesbians?' he asked the girl.
'I do not know,' she said. 'They are all very nice people.'
'I should say they are lesbians. But maybe they are just good friends. Maybe they are both. It means nothing to me and it was not a criticism.'
'You are nice when you are gentle.'
'Do you suppose the word gentleman derives from a man who is gentle?'
'I do not know.' the girl said, and she ran her fingers very lightly over the scarred hand. 'But I love you when you are gentle.'
'I'll try very hard to be gentle,' the Colonel said. 'Who do you suppose that son of a b***h is at the ta
