't suppose it. I was only quoting the Archdeacon."

"I wish to goodness the Archdeacon would mind his own business!"

"That's what he's doing," said the Canon. "If he wasn't he'd be here
now. He wanted to come. If the poor old bishop had held out another week
he would have come."

The Canon left me after that.

CHAPTER XVI

I fully expected a visit from Miss Pettigrew in the course of the next
day. I was not disappointed. She arrived at three o'clock, bringing
the Canon with her. I was greatly impressed by her appearance. She has
bright eyes which twinkled, and she holds her head very straight, pushed
well back on her shoulders so that a good deal of her neck is visible
below her chin. I felt at once that she was the sort of woman who could
do what she liked at me. I attempted my only possible line of defence.

"Aren't you afraid of influenza?" I said. "Is it wise----?

"I'm not in the least afraid," said Miss Pettigrew.

"Not for yourself, of course," I said. "But you might carry it back to
Miss Battersby. I'm horribly infectious just now. Even the nurse washes
herself in Condy's Fluid after being near me."

"Miss Battersby must take her chance like the rest of us. I've come to
talk about Lalage."

"I told the Canon last night," I said, "that I'm not capable of dealing
with Lalage. I really am not. I know because I've often tried."

"Listen to me for a minute," said Miss Pettigrew. "We've got to get
Lalage out of this. I'm not given to taking conventional views of things
and I'm the last woman in Ireland to want to make girls conform to the
standard of what's called ladylikeness. But Lalage has gone too far. The
newspapers are full of her and that's not good for any girl."

"I'm sure," I said, "that if you represent that view of the case to
Lalage----"

"We have. We spent two hours with her last night and three hours this
morning. We didn't produce the slightest effect."

"Hilda cried," said the Canon.

"After all," I said, "that's something. I couldn't have made Hilda cry."

"Hilda doesn't count," said Miss Pettigrew. "She's a dear girl but
anybody could manage her. We didn't make Lalage cry."

"No," I said, "you couldn't, of course. In fact, I expect, Lalage made
you laugh."

Miss Pettigrew smiled and then checked herself. Amusement struggled with
a certain grimness for expression on her face. In the end she smiled
again.

"Lalage has always made me laugh," she said, "ever since she was q