Then Teddy came back to earth.

‘Have you enlisted yet?’ he asked.

‘I’m not going to be a soldier,’ said Nancy quickly.

’Well, you’ll never get to heaven if you don’t fight for our Captain now.  He won’t let you inside the gates unless you belong to Him.  Girls can fight just as much as boys.’

‘Of course they can.  I can fight as well as you, button-boy!’

‘Why don’t you fight your enemy, then?’

‘What enemy?’

’My enemy is called Ipse.  He’s a dreadful trouble to me.  You’ve got yours—­the thing inside you that makes you want to do naughty things; you’ve got to fight it, and do the good things instead.  I’ve had two fights with Ipse to-day.’

‘Have you?  Do tell me!’

’You mustn’t tell any one, then.  It was in church this morning.  There was an old woman in front of me, and she’d untied her bonnet, and the ribbons fell over in our pew.  She went fast asleep in the sermon, and nodded her head back till it almost tumbled off her head, and Ipse thought if I would put out my hand and just give a tiny, weeny pull at the ribbon, it would come right off!’

Nancy clapped her hands.  ‘Why didn’t you?  What fun!’

’I wanted to let Ipse have his way dreadful, but I remembered I must fight him, and I did.  I asked my Captain to help me, and then I put both my hands in my pockets, and screwed up my eyes tight.  But I was glad when she woke up and tied her bonnet on again.’

’That was much gooder than I could have been.  What’s the other fight you had?’

’Uncle Jake brought some fresh honey from the hives, and he put it on a plate in the window in the kitchen.  He said when he went out of the room, “Don’t touch that, Teddy,” as I was waiting for mother to come to church with me, and I went up and looked at it.  Ipse said to me, “Just put one finger in it.”  And I had to fight him very hard over that, but I ran away out of the room.’

‘And do you always fight him hard?’

’No; I often forget till it’s too late.  Mother said I must ask my Captain to make me remember.  I do ask Him a lot to help me.’

‘I don’t think I like that sort of fighting.’

‘Nancy, I wish you’d give yourself to God as His soldier.’  Teddy turned round earnestly as he spoke.

‘I think,’ said Nancy slowly, ‘I like to be naughty best.’  Then she added, with quick change of tone, ’My father is coming home soon, and he’ll come to see us here.  Then you’ll see what a grand sailor he is.  He is much grander than your father was.’

‘My father was an officer,’ said Teddy proudly.

‘So’s my father; he is a first-class petty officer’; and Nancy brought out the words slowly and with much emphasis.

‘My father was a non-commissioned officer,’ said Teddy, determining not to be beaten; ‘he was a full sergeant.’

’My father gives orders to all the sailors, and they have to do what he tells them.’