‘I don’t like the news,’ said Colonel Easterbrook to Patrick, buttonholing him fiercely. ‘I don’t like it at all. If you ask me, war’s inevitable-absolutely inevitable.’

‘I never pay any attention to news,’ said Patrick.

Once more the door opened and Mrs Harmon came in.

Her battered felt hat was stuck on the back of her head in a vague attempt to be fashionable and she had put on a rather limp frilly blouse instead of her usual pullover.

‘Hallo, Miss Blacklock,’ she exclaimed, beaming all over her round face. ‘I’m not too late, am I? When does the murder begin?’

There was an audible series of gasps. Julia gave an approving little giggle, Patrick crinkled up his face and Miss Blacklock smiled at her latest guest.

‘Julian is just frantic with rage that he can’t be here,’ said Mrs Harmon. ‘Headores murders. That’s really why he preached such a good sermon last Sunday-I suppose I oughtn’t to say it was a good sermon as he’s my husband-but it really was good, didn’t you think?-so much better than his usual sermons. But as I was saying it was all because ofDeath Does the Hat Trick. Have you read it? The girl at Boots’ kept it for me specially. It’s simplybaffling. You keep thinking you know-and then the whole thing switches round-and there are a lovely lot of murders, four or five of them. Well, I left it in the study when Julian was shutting himself up there to do his sermon, and he just picked it up and simplycould not put it down! And consequently he had to write his sermon in a frightful hurry and had to just put down what he wanted to say very simply-without any scholarly twists and bits and learned references-and naturally it was heaps better. Oh, dear, I’m talking too much. But do tell me, when is the murder going to begin?’

Miss Blacklock looked at the clock on the mantelpiece.

‘If it’s going to begin,’ she said cheerfully, ‘it ought to begin soon. It’s just a minute to the half hour. In the meantime, have a glass of sherry.’