“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to say!” Eteoneus exclaimed. “I had no idea you saw it, too.”

“Why, Eteoneus,” said Helen, “you and I have more ideas in common than any other two people in the house. We have had some experience of the world, and we’ve thought about what we have seen. I shall miss you terribly if you leave us. You could help me from now on—as indeed you have been helping. I haven’t had the opportunity before to thank you for what you said to Hermione.”

“About women?”

“Yes.”

“Why, Menelaus was going to put me out of the house for that!”

“He would feel that way about it,” said Helen, “but you told the truth. And Hermione needed to hear it. I suspect Menelaus knew it was the truth, too. And from the first you did the right thing about Orestes. And you showed a human attitude toward poor Adraste. You are really a very noble man!”

“I’m a very ordinary one,” said Eteoneus, “and I’m not what I was. It is kind of you to speak so—in fact, it’s the first compliment I’ve had from anybody since you went to Troy. I don’t count the tributes I could pick out of your husband’s sarcastic remarks if I tried.”

“Oh, he likes you enormously, Eteoneus! I rather fancy he relies on you to see that his more foolish commands are not carried out. If he gets a new man who obeys him literally, the house will be ruined. Won’t you stay?”

“If you both want me so badly—” said Eteoneus. “But there are other difficulties, too. I’d better go now, before we get in deeper.”

“Let me hear the other difficulties,” said Helen. “Perhaps we could reach some solution of them.”

“Hermione and Orestes,” said Eteoneus. “We’re not done with them. They think they want to travel indefinitely, but what’s indefinitely? Menelaus forgave Orestes before they left, and he’s wrapped up in his daughter—”

“He should be,” said Helen.

“Oh, I know,” said Eteoneus, “but they will come back, that’s the difficulty. When Menelaus forgave him, it was on the assumption that they were saying good-bye for ever. First I had to get that food and stuff done up in bags for Hermione, then I had to put it away because she was too proud to accept it, then I had to get it all out again the next day, and twice as much, for Orestes. He wasn’t too proud, I can tell you. And Menelaus made him promise, without any great difficulty, that if ever Hermione was in need, they’d let us know. We’ll be feeding them at a distance till they find it more convenient to be fed close by.”