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always obeyed her grandparents in everything. It had never occurred to her to do otherwise.
    So Jasper and Noel awaited her in vain outside the twopenny-bar shop. They were not, however, left without any distraction. Hardly had they taken up a position on Ye Olde Stocks (which had been placed on the village green by some enthusiastic lover of the countryside in about 1890, and had since constituted a lure for Americans) than the Misses Smith and Jones appeared in search of aspirins, soap, and a daily paper. The first two were procurable, the last was not. Miss Smith and Miss Jones emerged from the village shop loudly bewailing this fact. Jasper saw and took his opportunity.
    ‘Do let me lend you my
Daily Mail,’
he said, addressing himself to the ducal Miss Jones while comprising in his glance the rather more luscious-looking Miss Smith.
    ‘Oh, thank you, that is very kind,’ said Miss Smith. Miss Jones almost snatched at the paper. She then began to race through its pages while Miss Smith looked eagerly over her shoulder. They seemed to be searching for some particular piece of news.
    ‘Second body in trunk is on the middle page,’ said Jasper quietly. ‘The missing ladies are on page 8.’
    Horror appeared on the faces of Miss Smith and Miss Jones. ‘What missing ladies?’ asked Miss Smith in a shaking voice.
    ‘The ones the police suspect of being in more trunks,’ said Jasper, looking at them with a thoughtful expression. They appeared very much relieved by this. ‘Will you have a cigarette?’
    Miss Smith took one. Miss Jones did not smoke. They continued,in a desultory way, to examine the paper, but apparently failing to find anything of interest in it they gave it back to Jasper.
    ‘As we all appear to be using the same bathroom and so on, and so forth,’ he said, ‘supposing we introduce ourselves. I am Jasper Aspect and this is Noel Foster, who is down here in order to have a complete rest. He has been far from well lately, thoroughly run down.’
    Noel gave Jasper a look which, if looks could kill, would have killed him. Too late, the harm was now done. Of no avail to expostulate or deny, the impression had duly been made and registered of a boring hypochondriac. Once more he cursed himself for letting Jasper join in this adventure. Alone he could have stood up to each situation as it arose, cutting quite a romantic figure. Jasper was always just too quick for him. He ground his teeth and thought of vengeance, after all his was the upper hand financially.
    It appeared that Miss Smith was called Poppy. She seemed to like Jasper and expressed sympathy for Noel, whose appearance probably failed to attract her. Miss Jones did not vouchsafe her name, neither did she join in the conversation which followed, but stood tapping long white fingers on her bag, as though anxious to get away.
    Miss Smith asked how long Jasper was stopping at the Jolly Roger.
    ‘I expect we shall be here for some weeks. I am engaged upon research work in the neighbourhood, of a delicate and interesting nature, and Noel has his cure. He has had a very sad time lately – the aunt with whom he lived died suddenly.’
    Miss Smith regretted. Noel raged inwardly. From now onwards he was stamped as a delicate young man who had always lived with his aunt, a woman whom actually he had seen about four times in his life.
    ‘And you,’ continued Jasper, ‘how long shall you be here?’
    It appeared that Miss Smith felt herself suited by Chalford, but that Miss Jones did not. ‘My friend,’ said Miss Smith, rather nervously, ‘er – Miss Jones here, finds the Jolly Roger so veryuncomfortable. The bath isn’t built in, as you have probably noticed, and she is not used to sharing a bathroom with other people. The beds, too, are rather hard.’
    ‘I didn’t know that Rickmansworth was noted for its sybarites,’ said Jasper.
    ‘Rickmansworth?’ said Miss Smith vaguely – then pulling herself together, ‘Oh, Rickmansworth you mean?