"The Interruption"

A meeting at the Naval Station, was attended by an officer who outranked the rest of his company.

"Don't let me interfere with your work," he said. "I'll just sit here quietly."

Soon afterward, the officer interrupted with a comment…

"Sorry," he apologized. "You won't hear another word from me."

A few minutes later, the officer again felt compelled to speak and concluded,

"That's all I'm going to say."

Not long after, he took the floor once more and then contritely vowed to remain silent.

"That's okay, Sir,"

… a chief petty officer called out from the back.

"You just won me five bucks"