molest a lot of strange women,
and then finding that for all the good you've done you might as well
have spent the day advertising for 'The Lost Chord.'"

My sister pulled herself together.

"Thank goodness, I had the sense to engage Pauline," she announced.
"Something told me I'd better. But I waited before taking up her
reference, on the off-chance of this one being a marvel. Where is the
wretched man?"

"Jonah fetched up with him. He's stayed behind because of the Customs.
They ought to be here any minute."

"Well, there's no place for him to sleep here," said Daphne. "Fitch will
have to look after him for tonight, and to-morrow he'll have to go
back."

Berry looked at his watch.

"Five past seven," he said. "As the blighter's here, why not let him
sub-edit the dinner to-night? It'll shorten his life, but it may save
ours. You never know."

My sister hesitated. Then--

"He'll never do it," she said. "I can suggest it, but, if he's anything
of a cook, he'll go off the deep end at once."

"And give notice," said I. "Well, that's exactly what we want. Then we
shan't have to fire him. He can just push off quietly to-morrow, Pauline
will roll up on Monday, and everything will be lovely in the garden."

"That's it," said Berry. "If he consents, well and good. If he declines,
so much the better. It's a blinkin' certainty. Whichever happens, we
can't lose."

"All right," said Daphne. "I shall make Jonah tell him."

It took Jonah and M. Francois longer to satisfy the officers of His
Majesty's Customs and Excise than we had anticipated, and I had consumed
a much-needed whisky and soda and was on the way to the bathroom when I
heard them arrive.

Before I had completed a leisurely toilet, it was all over.

As we waited in the lounge of the _Carlton_ Grill for a table, which we
had been too late to reserve, my sister related the circumstances which
had led to the _debacle_.

"The wretched little man didn't seem to take to the idea of starting in
right away, but I explained that he needn't do any more than just run
his eye over the _menu_, and that, as they were going to have the same
dinner in the servants' hall, it really only amounted to looking after
his own food.

"Then I sent for Falcon, explained things, and told him to look after
the man this evening, and that I was making arrangements for him to stay
with Fitch over the garage. Then I had Mrs. Chapel up."

"That, I take it," said Berry, "is the nym