‘Why on earth do you want to be in a railway accident?’ ‘Well I don’t really, of course. It was just ‘ ‘Just what?’ ‘Well, it would be an adventure of some kind, wouldn’t it’., Perhaps we could save lives or do something useful. Useful at the same time exalting.’ ‘What a hope? said Mx Beresford.
‘I know,’ agreed Tuppence. ‘It’s just that these sort of idea come to one sometimes.’
CHAPTER 2 Was it your Poor Child?
How Sunny Ridge had come by its name would be difficult to say. There was nothing prominently ridge-like about it. The grounds were flat, which was eminently more suitable for the elderly occupants. It had an ample, though rather undistin-guished garden. It was a fairly large Victorian mansion kept in a good state of repair. There were some pleasant shady trees, a Virginia creeper running up the side of the house, and two monkey puzzles gave an exotic air to the scene. There were several benches in advantageous places to catch the sun, one or two garden chairs and a sheltered veranda on which the old ladies could sit sheltered from the east winds.
Tommy rang the front door bell and he and Tuppence were duly admitted by a rather harassed looking young woman in a nylon overall. She showed them into a small sitting-room saying rather breathlessly, ‘I’ll tell Miss Packard. She’s expecting you and she’ll be down in a minute. You won’t mind waiting just a little, will you, but it’s old Mrs Carraway. She’s been and swallowed her thimble again, you see.’
‘How on earth did she do a thing like that?’ asked Tuppence, surprised.
‘Does it for fun,’ explained the household help briefly.
‘Always doing it.’
She departed and Tuppence sat down and said thoughtfully, ‘I don’t think I should like to swallow a thimble. It’d be awfully bobbly as it went down. Don’t you think so?’
They had not very long to wait however before the door opened and Miss Packard came in, apologizing as she did so.
She was a big, sandy-haired woman of about fifty with the air of calm competence about her which Tommy had always admired.
‘I’m sorry if I have kept you waiting, Mr Beresford,’ she said. ‘How do you do, Mrs Beresford, I’m so glad you’ve cor too.’ ‘Somebody swallowed something, I hear,’ said Tommy.
‘Oh, so Marlene told you that? Yes, it was old M Carraway. She’s always swallowing things. Very difficult, yo know, because one can’t watch them all the rime. Of course on knows children do it, but it seems a funny thing to be a hobb of an elderly woman, doesn’t it? It’s grown upon her, yo know. She gets worse every year, It doesn’t seem to do her an harm, that’s the cheeriest thing about it.’ ‘Perhaps her father was a sword swallower,’ suggeste Tuppence.
‘Now that’s a very interesting idea, Mrs Beresford. Perhap it would explain things.’ She went on,’I’ve told Miss Fanshaw, that you were coming, Mr Beresford. I don’t know reall’ whether she quite took it in. She doesn’t always, you know.’ ‘How has she been lately?’ ‘Well, she’s failing rather rapidly now, I’m afraid,’ said Mis Packard in a comfortable voice. ‘One never really knows ho much she takes in and how much she doesn’t. I told her las night and she said she was sure I must be mistaken because i was term time. She seemed to think that you were still a school. Poor old things, they get very muddled up sometimes especially over time. However, this morning when I reminde her about your visit, she just said it was quite impossibl. because you were dead. Oh well,’ Miss Packard went o cheerfully, ‘I expect she’ll recognize you when she sees you.’ ‘How is she in health? Much the same?’ ‘Well, perhaps as well as can be expected. Frankly, yot know, I don’t think she’ll be with us very much longer. Sh doesn’t suffer in any way but her heart condition’s no bettel than it was. In fact, it’s rather worse. So I think I’d like you tt know that it’s just as well to be prepared, so that if she did g suddenly it wouldn’t be any shock to you.’ ‘We brought her some flowers,’ said Tuppence.