“—­The guard of the train, the booking clerks and porters at Midhurst and Selham, and the station-masters at Midhurst and Selham and Petworth (probably) and Fittleworth.  Quite a number of important people, to say nothing of Kendal, who is perhaps the most important of them all.”

“And who was it who brought Kendal into it?”

I was silent.

“Nobody but you, Furny, or a born fool, would have dreamed of bringing Kendal in.”

I said that a little reflection would show her that it was impossible to keep him out.  To this she said, “Please go and find Norah.  I want her.”

I found Norah.  I warned her that Viola was going to be extremely difficult.  She said it would be all right if I left Viola to her.

As we approached, Viola turned to her sister with an air of outraged and long-suffering dignity.

“Norah,” she said.  “I do wish you would make Wally see what an ass he’s making of himself.”

My wife said, in her admirable, judicial way, “How an ass?”

“Well—­trying to make me go back and bringing Kendal out here to fetch me.  He doesn’t seem to see that if I do go back with him it’ll be as good as proclaiming to everybody that I ran away with Charlie and was found out by my clever brother-in-law who tracked me down in my husband’s motor-car and brought me back in it.  Whereas, if I go quietly on to London, as I meant to and as everybody knows I meant to, it’ll be all right.”

“It won’t,” I said, “as long as Charlie’s there.  It will be if you come home with us in the car now, and go up to town with Norah and me on Monday.”

“I’ve told you,” she said wearily, “that I can’t go back because I shall never get away if I do.  And I must—­I must—­and I will.”

“Yes, dear, and you shall,” my wife said, as if she were humouring somebody who was mad.

But for a mad woman Viola, I must say, was extraordinarily lucid.

“What excuse did you give to Kendal for following me in this way?”

“We told him we had an important message to give you before you started.”

“Important message!  That was pretty thin.  I’d have thought of something cleverer than that if I’d been you.  You are a precious pair of conspirators.  Can’t you see that it’s you—­with your ridiculous suspicions—­that have given me away?”

Norah answered her.

“Oh, Vee-Vee,” she said, “we hadn’t any suspicions.  The message was to tell you that Charlie was in the train.  We knew you didn’t know it.”

To this Viola said coldly, “Walter didn’t.”

I tried to reassure her, but she waved me away with her hands and implored me to “let her think.”

“Well,” she said presently, “it isn’t as bad as you’ve tried to make it, even with Kendal thrown in.  You came rushing after me to give me a message, and you have given me a message, and now you’ll go and tell Kendal that it’s all right, and thank him nicely for catching me up, and you rush home again, and I go on quietly to London by the next train.”