rning something more about Eileen.

"You were talking about Miss Holland," I said hurriedly, before he had
time to get under way again.

"Oh, so I was. And that reminds me I've come here just to make some
inquiries about the girl."

Again his blue eyes twinkled furiously.

"Why's Miss Holland like our hall clock?" he inquired. "I may mention
by the way that it's always going slow."

Again I gave it up.

"Because you take her hand and get forward! That was one for my wife's
benefit. It made her fairly sick!"

"Do you mean," I demanded, "that you were actually in the habit of
holding Miss--er--Holland's hand?"

"Oh, no fears. I'm past that game. But Mrs Craigie is a great one for
p's and q's and not being what she calls vulgar, and a joke like that
is a sure draw. I get her every time with my governess riddles.
Here's a good one now--Why's a pretty governess like a----"

In spite of the need for caution, my impatience was fast overcoming me.

"Then you have been sent by Mrs Craigie to make inquiries about Miss
Holland?" I interrupted a trifle brusquely.

Mr Craigie seemed at least to have the merit of not taking offence
readily.

"That's the idea," he agreed. "You see, it's this way: my wife's been
at me ever since our governess bolted, as she calls it. Well now,
what's the good in making inquiries about a thing that's happened and
finished and come to an end? If it was a case of engaging another
governess, that's a different story. I'd take care not to have any
German spies next time!"

"German spies!" I exclaimed, with I hope well-simulated horror; "you
don't mean to suspect Miss Holland of that surely!"

"Oh, 'German Spy' is just a kind of term nowadays for any one you don't
know all about," said Mr Craigie easily. "Every one you haven't seen
before is a German Spy. I spotted five myself in my own parish at the
beginning of the war, and Mrs Craigie wrote straight off to the Naval
Authorities and reported them all."

"And were they actually spies?" I asked a trifle uncomfortably.

"Not one of them!" laughed he. "The nearest approach was a tinker
who'd had German measles! Ha, ha! It's no good my wife reporting any
more spies, and I just reminded her of that whenever she worried me,
and pulled her leg a bit about me and Miss Holland being in the game
together, and so it was all right till she got wind of a girl who was
the image of the disappearing governess being here at the manse as M