It must have been a dreadfully expensive house to keep up. I believe it stood empty for a long time after he died, and then they turned it into flats. But the garden isn’t what it was-of course gardeners are almost impossible to get-and I would like to be nearer my husband, but as for getting anything reasonable, well, I did go and see a bungalow just the other day-three rooms and a kitchen, and they were asking five and a half guineas a week for it-”

“These exorbitant prices should be controlled,” said Miss Silver briskly.

“So I decided to stay where I was.”

“Very sensibly, I am sure.”

“Though, as I said, there are drawbacks, living at such close quarters with other people. There are eight flats, and-well, I expect you know how it is, you come up in the lift with people, so you can’t help knowing them by sight, can you?”

Miss Silver supposed not.

The pearls rose and fell. Mrs. Underwood went on.

“So in a way you know them, and in a way you don’t. And the ones you wouldn’t mind being friendly with aren’t always the ones that want to be friendly with you. Miss Garside now- I don’t know who she is to give herself such airs, but she’s got a way of looking across the lift at you as if you were on the other side of the street and she’d never seen you before and wouldn’t know you from Adam if she met you again. Downright rude I call it. Then on the other hand there are people you don’t know anything about-and I’m sure I haven’t got anything against anybody, and you can’t be too careful what you say, but Meade is a very attractive girl, and though she’s my husband’s niece and not mine, I don’t make any difference on that account, and I’m very pleased to give her a home while she wants one-but having a girl in the flat, well, you have to be more careful than you would be on your own account.”

Miss Silver began to see a glimmer of light.

“Has anyone been annoying your niece?”