I 'ave tried to break 'im
of these larky 'abits but he won't do what I arsks him. I
wish I'd stopped at bein' Pill," wailed Mrs. Barnes, wiping
her eyes. "An' if Thomas is drunk and bail bein' required--"
"I don't know if your husband is drunk or sober," interrupted
Jennings. "We are on a different errand. Tell me, Mrs.
Barnes, do you know if Miss Loach had a secret entrance to
this room?"
"Lor no, sir," cried the woman, casting a surprised glance
round, "whatever would she 'ave that for, pore dear?"
"The furniture is oddly placed," said Twining.
And indeed it was. Tables and chairs and sofa were ranged in
two lines on either side of the room, leaving the middle
portion bare. The floor was covered with a Turkey carpet down
the centre, but the sides of the floor were without covering.
Mrs. Barnes explained this.
"Miss Loach liked to 'ave things straight this way for the
night, bein' of tidy 'abits. She thought the floor bein'
clear left the 'ousemaid, who was Geraldine, room to sweep and
dust thoroughly. Mr. Clancy 'ave the same fancy, though being
a man as tidy as ever was."
"Strange Mr. Clancy should be tidy," said Jennings drily. "He
certainly is not so in his dress. Now the best thing you can
do, Mrs. Barnes, is to go to bed."
"An' leave you 'ere," screeched the cook indignantly. "Why,
whatever would Mr. Clancy say, he being respectable."
"Very good then, you can stop here. Stand on one side,
Twining, and you, Mrs.
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