“I think lunch, Effie,” said Mrs. Arbuthnot, eyeing longingly the basket in which kind Kate had packed food and a large thermos of coffee. Miss Arbuthnot said it was only half-past twelve, but she felt as if she had been working for seventeen hours and wanted coffee more than anything else in the world. So they unpacked the basket, spread on the table the cloth which Kate’s forethought had provided, and sat down to their meal; Miss Arbuthnot on a chair, Mrs. Arbuthnot who was smaller and folded up more easily on a suitcase. Just as Miss Arbuthnot was pouring out the coffee steps were heard on the staircase. The ladies looked at each other with apprehension and despair. Matron’s eldest nephew appeared at the door.
“Sorry to intrude,” he said, “but I just looked in to say I was going. Aunti
