e door:

"I'm glad I had four cups of tea," said Berry. "How many did you have?"

"Two," said Jill tearfully.

"Ah, I shall survive you, then. Very likely I shall be alive, if
insane, when found. At any rate, with the aid of artificial
respiration--"

"Rubbish!" said Daphne. "Some one must hear us soon."

"My dear, the noise we can make wouldn't flush a titlark at twenty
paces. No, no!" he went on airily, "a lingering death awaits us. I
only wish my caddie was here, too. Is anyone's tongue swelling?
That's a sure sign. Directly you feel that, you know you're thirsty."

"Fool!" said his wife, "Besides, they'll miss the key soon."

"Where is the key?" said Jonah. "If we once lose that, we shall never
find it again."

There was an awful silence. Then:

"Er--didn't I give it to you?" said Berry.

His words were the signal for a general uproar. The others fell upon
Berry and rent him. As it died down, we heard him bitterly comparing
them to wolves and curs about a lion at bay. Then a match was struck
and there were groping sounds.

"When you've quite finished with my feet," said Daphne in a withering
tone.

"Sorry, dearest. I thought it was a bag of meal," said her husband.
"My thoughts run on food just now, you see." Here he gave a yell of
agony. "Get off!" he screamed. "You're on my hand."

"That's more like it," said Jonah. "That ought to carry."

"Meal-bags don't hurt, do they?" said Daphne coolly. My sister is
proud of her dainty feet.

"Vixen," replied her spouse.

I slipped my arm into that of the girl, who was leaning against the
wall shaking with laughter. Tears were coursing down my cheeks. I
drew her away from the door and whispered brokenly in her ear. She
nodded and pulled herself together. Then she went to the door and
knocked. Silence.

"Hullo," she said.

"Er-hullo," said Berry.

"I thought I heard somebody calling," said the girl.

"Er--did you?" said Berry.

"Yes, but I'm afraid I must have been mistaken. Perhaps it was some
boys calling. Good-bye."

There was a perfect shriek of "Don't go" from Daphne and Jill. Then:

"You idiot!" said Daphne. "Let me." We heard her advance to the door.

"I say," she purred, "it's awfully sweet of you to have come. We did
call. You see, it sounds awfully silly, but we're locked in."

"Oh, how dreadful for you," said the girl.

"Yes, isn't it? There's no key-hole this side."

"How awfully tireso