t here. The whole of the coast is very
curious in that way. What the--what the dickens is this?"

Sir Henry, who had been strolling about the room, picked up a Homburg
hat from the far side of a table of curios. Philippa glanced up at his
exclamation.

"That's Nora's trophy," she explained. "I told her to take it up to her
own room, but she's always wanting to show it to her friends."

"Nora's trophy?" Sir Henry repeated. "Why, it's nothing but an ordinary
man's hat."

"Nevertheless, it's a very travelled one, sir," Harrison pointed out.
"Miss Nora picked it up on Dutchman's Common, the morning after the
observation car was found there."

Sir Henry held out the hat.

"But Nora doesn't seriously suppose that the Germans come over in this
sort of headgear, does she?" he demanded.

"If you'll just look inside the lining, sir," Sinclair suggested.

Sir Henry turned it up and whistled softly. "By Jove, it's a German hat,
all right!" he exclaimed. "Doesn't look a bad shape, either."

He tried it on. There was a little peal of laughter from the men.
Philippa had ceased her knitting and was watching from the couch. Sir
Henry looked at himself in the looking-glass.

"Well, that's funny," he observed. "I shouldn't have thought it would
have been so much too small for me. Here, just try how you'd look in it,
Mr. Lessingham," he added, handing it across to him.

Lessingham accepted the situation quite coolly, and placed the hat
carefully on his head.

"It doesn't feel particularly comfortable," he remarked.

"That may be," Sir Henry suggested, "because you have it on wrong side
foremost. If you'd just turn it round, I believe you would find it a
very good fit."

Lessingham at once obeyed. Sir Henry regarded him with admiration.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Look at that, Philippa. Might have been made
for him, eh?"

Lessingham looked at himself in the glass and removed the hat from his
head with, some casual observation. He was entirely at his ease. His
host turned towards the door, which Mills was holding open.

"Captain Griffiths, sir," the latter announced.

Sir Henry greeted his visitor briefly.

"How are you, Griffiths?" he said. "Glad to see you. Excuse my costume,
but I am just back from a fishing expedition. We are all admiring Mr.
Lessingham in his magic hat."

Captain Griffiths shook hands with Philippa, nodded to the others, and
turned towards Lessingham.

"Put it on again, there's a good fellow