“Poor old chap,” said Daphne.  “It must have been awful.  But haven’t you got her?”

“It’s a he!” cried Jill, squeaking with excitement.  “It’s a he.  Jonah’s bringing him——­”

“A what?” said my sister, taking a pace backward.

“A male,” said I.  “You know.  Like Nobby.  Separate legs, and shaves on Thursdays.”

“Do you mean to say that it’s a chef?”

I nodded.

My sister collapsed into a convenient chair and closed her eyes.  Presently she began to shake with laughter.

“It is droll, isn’t it?” said Berry.  “People wouldn’t believe it.  Fancy travelling a hundred and fifty miles to 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.