Was Miss Stoker there ? " " Yes, sir. She appeared at the breakfast table. I was somewhat surprised to see her. I had assumed that it washer intention to remain ashore and establish communication with his lordship." I laughed shortly. " They established communication, all right! " " Sir ? " I put down the banjolele and looked at him sternly. "
A nice thing you let all and sundry in for last night! " I said. " Sir ?
" " You can't get out of it by saying * Sir ? ' Why on earth didn't you stop Miss Stoker from swimming ashore yestreen ? " " I could scarcely take the liberty, sir, of thwarting the young lady in an enterprise on which her heart was so plainly set." " She says you urged her on with word and gesture." " No, sir. I merely expressed sympathy with her stated aims." " You said I would be delighted to put her up for the night." " She had already decided to seek refuge in your house, sir. I did nothing more than hazard the opinion that you would do all that lay in your power to assist her."
" Well, do you know what the outcome was- the upshot, if I may use the term ? I was pursued by the police." " Indeed, sir ? " " Yes. Naturally I couldn't sleep in the house, with every nook and cranny bulging with blighted girls, so I withdrew to the garage. I had hardly been there ten minutes before Sergeant Voules arrived." " I have not met Sergeant Voules, sir." " With him Constable Dobson." " I am acquainted with Constable Dobson. A nice young fellow. He is keeping company with Mary, the parlourmaid at the Hall. A red-haired girl, sir." " Resist the urge to talk about the colour of parlourmaids' hair, Jeeves," I said coldly.
"It is not germane to the issue. Stick to the point. Which is that I spent a sleepless night, chased to and fro by the gendarmerie." " I am sorry to hear that, sir." " Eventually Chuff y arrived. Forming a totally erroneous diagnosis of the case, he insisted on helping me to my room, removing my boots, and putting me to bed. He was thus occupied when Miss Stoker strolled in, wearing my heliotrope pyjamas." " Most disturbing, sir." " It was. They had the dickens of a row, Jeeves." "
Indeed, sir ? " " Eyes flashed, voices were raised. Eventually Chuffy fell downstairs and went moodily out into the night. And the point is-the nub of the thing is-what is to be done about it?" "It is a situation that will require careful thought, sir." " You mean you have not had any ideas yet ? " " I have only this moment heard what transpired, sir." " True. I was forgetting that. Have you had speech with Miss Stoker this morning ? " " No, sir." " Well, I can see no point in your going to the Hall and tackling Chuffy. I have given this matter a good deal of thought, Jeeves, and it is plain to me that Miss Stoker is the one who will require the persuasive word, the nicely reasoned argument-in short, the old oil. Last night Chuffy wounded her deepest feelings, and it's going to take a lot of spadework to bring her round.
In comparison, the problem of Chuffy is simple. I shouldn't be surprised if even now he was kicking himself soundly for having behaved so like a perfect chump. One day of quiet meditation, at the outside, should be enough to convince him that he wronged the girl. To go and reason with Chuffy is simply a waste of time. Leave him alone, and Nature will effect the cure. You had better go straight back to the yacht and see what you can do at the other end."
" It was not with the intention of interviewing his lordship that I came ashore, sir. Once more I must reiterate that, until you informed me just now, I was not aware that anything in the nature of a rift had occurred. My motive in coming here was to hand you a note from Mr. Stoker." I was puzzled. " A note ? " " Here it is, sir."
I opened it, still fogged, and read contents. I can't say I felt much clearer when I had done so. " Rummy, Jeeves." " Sir ? " " This is a letter of invitation." " Indeed, sir ? " " Absolutely. Bidding me to the feast. ' Dear Mr. Wooster,' writes Pop Stoker, ' I shall be frightfully bucked if you will come and mangle a spot of garbage on the boat to-night. Don't dress.' I give you the gist of the thing. Peculiar, Jeeves." " Certainly unforeseen, sir." " I forgot to tell you that among my visitors last night was this same Stoker. He bounded in, shouting that his daughter was on the premises, and searched the house." "
Indeed, sir ? " " Well, of course, he didn't find any daughter, because she was already on her way back to the yacht, and he seemed conscious of having made
