She therefore concealed her ignorance of her newest guest’s identity, she stiffened her lips and poured out another cup of tea with a nerveless hand.  The stranger took the cup of tea with some relief, and said:  “Thenk you, meddem.”

The witch stopped dancing, and stood in front of the newcomer’s chair.

“I think yours must be a discouraging job,” she said to him.  “Getting people punished for doing things you’d love to do yourself.  Oh, awfully discouraging.  And do tell me, there’s a little problem that’s been on my mind ever since the war started.  I hear that Hindenburg says the German Army intends to march through London the moment it can brush away the obstacles in front of it.  Have you considered what will happen to the traffic, because you know Germans on principle march on the wrong side of the street—­indeed everybody in the world does, except the conscientious British.  Think of the knotted convulsions of traffic at the Bank, with a hundred thousand Boches goose-stepping on the wrong side of the road—­think of poor thin Fleet Street, and the dam that would occur in Piccadilly Circus.  What do you policemen intend to do about it?”

“I don’t know I’m sure, miss,” said the newcomer coldly.  “It’s a long time since I was on point duty.  I’m a plain clothes man, meddem,” he added to Miss Ford.  “I’m afraid I’m intruding on your tea-party, owing to your maid misunderstanding my business.  But being ’ere, I ’ope you’ll excuse me stating what I’ve come for.”

“Oh certainly, certainly,” said Miss Ford, who was staring vaguely into the fireplace.  A rather fascinating thread of lilac smoke was spinning itself out of the ashes of the little white paper packet.

“The names of the Mayor of the Brown Borough, Miss Meter Mostyn Ford, and Lady A.  ’Iggins—­all of ’oom I understand from the maid are present—­’ave been mentioned as being presoomably willing to give information likely to be ’elpful in the search for a suspicious cherecter ’oo is believed to ’ave intruded on a cheritable meeting, at which you were present last Seturday, in order to escape arrest, ’aving just perpetrated a petty theft from a baker, ’Ermann Schwab.  The cherecter is charged now with a more important offence, being in possession of an armed flying machine, in defiance of the Defence of the Realm Act, and interfering with the work of ’Is Majesty’s Forces during enemy attack.  The cherecter is believed to be a man in female disguise, but enquiry up to date ’as failed to get any useful description.  You ladies and gents, I understand, should be able to ’elp the Law in this metter.”

There was a stunned silence in the room, broken only by the pastoral sound of the witch eating grassy sandwiches.  After a moment Miss Ford, the Mayor, and Lady Arabel all began speaking at once, and each stopped with a look of relief on hearing that some one else was ready to take the responsibility of speaking.

Then the witch began with her mouth full:  “You know——­,” but Lady Arabel interrupted her.