t. I could only
see sideways into the room. A bit of curtain, and a yard of wallpaper
was all I could command. Well, that wasn't any manner of good to me, but
just as I was going to give it up, and climb down ignominiously, some
one inside moved and threw his shadow on my little bit of wall--and, by
gum, it was Whittington!

"After that, my blood was up. I'd just got to get a look into that
room. It was up to me to figure out how. I noticed that there was a long
branch running out from the tree in the right direction. If I could only
swarm about half-way along it, the proposition would be solved. But it
was mighty uncertain whether it would bear my weight. I decided I'd
just got to risk that, and I started. Very cautiously, inch by inch, I
crawled along. The bough creaked and swayed in a nasty fashion, and it
didn't do to think of the drop below, but at last I got safely to where
I wanted to be.

"The room was medium-sized, furnished in a kind of bare hygienic way.
There was a table with a lamp on it in the middle of the room, and
sitting at that table, facing towards me, was Whittington right enough.
He was talking to a woman dressed as a hospital nurse. She was sitting
with her back to me, so I couldn't see her face. Although the blinds
were up, the window itself was shut, so I couldn't catch a word of what
they said. Whittington seemed to be doing all the talking, and the nurse
just listened. Now and then she nodded, and sometimes she'd shake
her head, as though she were answering questions. He seemed very
emphatic--once or twice he beat with his fist on the table. The rain had
stopped now, and the sky was clearing in that sudden way it does.

"Presently, he seemed to get to the end of what he was saying. He got
up, and so did she. He looked towards the window and asked something--I
guess it was whether it was raining. Anyway, she came right across and
looked out. Just then the moon came out from behind the clouds. I
was scared the woman would catch sight of me, for I was full in the
moonlight. I tried to move back a bit. The jerk I gave was too much for
that rotten old branch. With an almighty crash, down it came, and Julius
P. Hersheimmer with it!"

"Oh, Julius," breathed Tuppence, "how exciting! Go on."

"Well, luckily for me, I pitched down into a good soft bed of earth--but
it put me out of action for the time, sure enough. The next thing I
knew, I was lying in bed with a hospital nurse (not Whittington's o