Nothing can stop them. Old and
trusted retainers will become unsettled. The domestic upheaval will be
unparalleled."

I read the advertisement through. In cold print my handiwork certainly
looked terribly alluring. Then I laid down the paper and strolled to the
window. It had been raining, but now the sun was out, and the cool fresh
air of the June morning was sweet and winsome. As I looked into the
glistening street--

"It's a bit early yet," continued Berry. "Give 'em a chance. I should
think they'll start about ten. I wonder how far the queue will reach,"
he added reflectively. "I hope the police take it past The Albert
Memorial. Then they can sit on the steps."

"Nonsense," said I a little uneasily. "We may get an answer or two
to-morrow. I think we shall. But cooks are few and far between."

"They won't be few and they'll be anything but far between by twelve
o'clock." He tapped the provocative paragraph with an accusing finger.
"This is a direct incitement to repair to 7, Cholmondeley Street, or as
near thereto as possible----"

"I wish to goodness we hadn't put it in," said Daphne.

"It's done now," said her husband, "and we'd better get ready. I'll turn
them down in the library, you can stand behind the what-not in the
drawing-room and fire them from there, and Boy'd better go down the
queue with some oranges and a megaphone, and keep on saying we're suited
right up to the last."

In silence I turned to the sideboard. It was with something of an effort
that I helped myself to a thick slab of bacon which was obviously but
half-cooked. From the bottom of a second dish a black and white egg,
with a pale green yoke, eyed me with a cold stare. With a shudder I
covered it up again.... After all, we did want a cook, and if we were
bombarded with applications for the post, the probability of getting a
good one was the more certain.

As I took my seat--

"Is Katharine's advertisement in?" I asked.

My sister nodded.

"She's put her telephone number, too."

"Has she? She will be mad when she sees we've had the same idea."

"Ah," said Berry. "I'd forgotten the telephone. That's another
vulnerable spot. I shouldn't wonder if----"

The sentence was never finished.

The hurried stammer of the telephone bell made a dramatic irruption, and
Jill, who was in the act of drinking, choked with excitement.

In silence we listened, to be quite sure. A second prolonged vibration
left no room for doubt.

"They're