e big difficult
drawer in which the witch kept her magic.

"It is frightfully explosive," said Sarah Brown.

Miss Ford started and straightened her back. "Ah, Miss Brown.... I was
just looking about...."

Sarah Brown sat gasping on the counter, and the rest of the party
re-entered the Shop, bringing the lantern.

"How very absurd all this is," said Miss Ford nervously,--"taking such a
great deal of trouble about a necessitous case."

"America is in my mind," said Lady Arabel. "If we could get her there.
Anybody who has done anything silly goes to America. Indeed, if I
remember rightly, America is entirely populated with fugitives from
somewhere else. So dretfully confusing for the Red Indians. They say the
story of the Tower of Babel was only a prophecy about the Woolworth
Building--"

"You couldn't get a passport," said Mr. Darnby Frere, who was the only
person present really conscious of sanity. "Only a miracle could produce
a passport in these days, especially for a fugitive from justice."

"Only a miracle--or magic," said Sarah Brown.

Miss Ford moved instinctively behind the counter towards the open drawer
full of ingredients for happiness.

"We must remember," added Mr. Frere, "that, after all, she did break the
law. In fact I cannot for the life of me imagine why on earth we are
all--"

"Oh, Darnby, do be sensible," said Miss Ford. "Of course we know it is
wrong to break the law, but in this case--well, I myself should be the
last to blame her."

"No, not the last," said Sarah Brown.

"What do you mean?"

"Certainly not the last. Probably not even the penultimate one. You
flatter yourself."

"Why, surely some of you ladies, movin' in the 'ighest circles, knows of
gentlemen in the Foreign Office that would do a little shut-eye job, for
old times' sake," suggested the Mayor.

This was a challenge to Miss Ford. She ceased to gaze haughtily on Sarah
Brown. "Men from three departments of the Foreign Office are fairly
regular Wednesday friends of mine," she said. "But I could hardly
trouble any of them on--er--so trivial a matter."

There was silence, while Miss Ford toyed gingerly with one of the paper
packets out of the witch's drawer. Presently she said: "What about
Richard?"

Lady Arabel showed sudden irritation. "There you go again, Meta; I have
spoken to you of it again and again. It's Rrchud this and Rrchud that
whenever anything in the least tahsome or out of the way happens. One
would t