insisted upon her eating a
good dinner before she gave an account of herself. Then, rested and
refreshed, she came into the drawing-room and settled herself in a
comfortable chair by the fire to give her experiences.

'I really think it will do,' she began. 'I arrived at the station
about twelve o'clock, and walked out the three miles, to see what the
country was like. Brambleton is a clean, empty little town, with no
one in the streets but a few tottering old men and children, a few good
shops, and there is a market every Friday. I walked along the high
road for a couple of miles, then turned up a lane with a ragged piece
of common at the end of it, passed one or two nice houses standing back
in their own grounds, a little country church with parsonage adjoining
in the orthodox fashion, a cluster of thatched cottages, and finally
came to the "cottage residence."'

'Is it in a village street?' asked Agatha.

'No, not exactly. It is in a side road leading to a farm. It is a low
white house with a great box hedge hiding it from the road, and a
stone-flagged path leading up to the door. A blue trellis verandah
runs right round it, which I rather liked, and a row of straw bee-hives
in front delighted me. There was an old woman in charge, who showed me
all over, and talked unceasingly.'

'Now describe the rooms exactly,' said Elfie eagerly; 'and did the
house smell musty and damp?'

'No, I shouldn't say it was at all damp; of course rooms that have been
shut up always seem fusty and close. It is a little place; you must
not think the rooms are anything like this. On one side of the door is
a long low room, the width of the house, with a window at each end; the
other side of the passage there are two smaller rooms; the kitchens,
etcetera, lie out at the back; and the stairs go up in the middle of
the passage. Four fair-sized bedrooms are above, and the two attics
are quite habitable. The back of the house has the best view; it
overlooks a hill with a cluster of pines, and woods in the distance.
Fields are round it, but the back garden has a good high brick wall,
with plenty of fruit trees, and all laid out as a kitchen garden. The
front piece is in grass, with a dear old elm in the corner.'

I don't like the sound of the box hedge,' said Agatha thoughtfully; 'it
seems so shut in, and very lonely, I should say.'

'Of course we shall not have many passers-by, except the carters to and
from the farm; but if