Tuppence.'
'Well, I suppose when you buy an old house there's always something wrong with it.'
'Do you think there's something wrong with this house Tuppence?'
'What on earth do you mean by wrong with this house?'
'Well, because I heard something rather queer about it today.'
'What - queer about this house?'
'Yes.'
'Really, Tommy, that seems impossible,' said Tuppence.
'Why does it seem impossible? Because it looks so nice and innocent? Well painted and done up?'
'No. Well painted and done up and looking innocent, that's all due to us. It looked rather shabby and decayed when we bought it.'
'Well, of course, that's why it was cheap.'
'You look peculiar, Tommy,' said Tuppence. 'What is it?'
'Well, it was old Moustachio-Monty, you know.'
'Oh, dear old boy, yes. Did he send his love to me?'
'Yes, he certainly did. He told me to make you take care of yourself, and me to take care of you.'
'He always says that. Though why I should take care of myself here I don't know.'
'Well, it seems it's the sort of place you might have to take care of yourself.'
'Now what on earth do you mean by that, Tommy?'
'Tuppence, what would you think if I said that he suggested or hinted, whatever way you like, that we were here not as old retired has-beens but as people on active service? That we were once more, as in the N or M days, on duty here. Sent here by the forces of security and order to discover something. To find out what was wrong with this place.'
'Well, I don't know if you're dreaming, Tommy, or if it was old Moustachio-Monty who was, if it was he who suggested it.'
'Well, he did. He seemed to think that we were definitely here on some kind of mission, to find something.'
'To find something? What sort of thing?'
'Something that might be hidden in this house.'
'Something that might be hidden in this house! Tommy, are you mad, or was he mad?'
'Well, I rather thought he might be mad, but I'm not so sure.'
'What could there be to find in this house?'
'Something that I suppose was once hidden here.'
'Buried treasure, are you talking about? Russian crown jewels hidden in the basement, that sort of thing?'
'No. Not treasure. Something that would be dangerous to someone.'
'Well, that's very odd,' said Tuppence.
'Why, have you found something?'
'No, of course, I haven't found anything. But it seems there was a scandal about this place donkey's years ago. I don't mean anyone actually remembers, but it's the sort of thing that your grandmother told you, or the servants gossiped about. Actually, Beatrice has a friend who seemed to know something about it. And Mary Jordan was mixed up in it. It was all very hush-hush.'
'Are you imagining things, Tuppence? Have you gone back to the glorious days of our youth, to the time when someone gave a girl on the Lusitania something secret, the days when we had adventure, when we tracked down the enigmatic Mr Brown?'
'Goodness, that was a long time ago, Tommy. The Young Adventurers we called ourselves. Doesn't seem real now, does it?'
'No, it doesn't. Not a bit. But it was real, yes, it was real all right. Such a lot of things are real though you can't really bring yourself to believe it. Must be at least sixty or seventy years ago. More than that, even.'
'What did Monty actually say?'
'Letters or papers of some kind,' said Tommy. 'Something that would have created or did create some great political upheaval of some kind. Someone in a position of power and who oughtn't to have been in a position of power, and there were letters, or papers, or something that would definitely cook his goose if they ever came to light. All sorts of intrigues and all happening years ago.'
'In the time of Mary Jordan? It sounds very unlikely,' said Tuppence. 'Tommy, you must have gone to sleep in the train coming back, and dreamt all this.'
'Well, perhaps I did,' said Tommy. 'It certainly doesn't seem likely.'
'Well, I suppose we might as well have a look around,' said Tuppence, 'as we are living
'Well, I suppose when you buy an old house there's always something wrong with it.'
'Do you think there's something wrong with this house Tuppence?'
'What on earth do you mean by wrong with this house?'
'Well, because I heard something rather queer about it today.'
'What - queer about this house?'
'Yes.'
'Really, Tommy, that seems impossible,' said Tuppence.
'Why does it seem impossible? Because it looks so nice and innocent? Well painted and done up?'
'No. Well painted and done up and looking innocent, that's all due to us. It looked rather shabby and decayed when we bought it.'
'Well, of course, that's why it was cheap.'
'You look peculiar, Tommy,' said Tuppence. 'What is it?'
'Well, it was old Moustachio-Monty, you know.'
'Oh, dear old boy, yes. Did he send his love to me?'
'Yes, he certainly did. He told me to make you take care of yourself, and me to take care of you.'
'He always says that. Though why I should take care of myself here I don't know.'
'Well, it seems it's the sort of place you might have to take care of yourself.'
'Now what on earth do you mean by that, Tommy?'
'Tuppence, what would you think if I said that he suggested or hinted, whatever way you like, that we were here not as old retired has-beens but as people on active service? That we were once more, as in the N or M days, on duty here. Sent here by the forces of security and order to discover something. To find out what was wrong with this place.'
'Well, I don't know if you're dreaming, Tommy, or if it was old Moustachio-Monty who was, if it was he who suggested it.'
'Well, he did. He seemed to think that we were definitely here on some kind of mission, to find something.'
'To find something? What sort of thing?'
'Something that might be hidden in this house.'
'Something that might be hidden in this house! Tommy, are you mad, or was he mad?'
'Well, I rather thought he might be mad, but I'm not so sure.'
'What could there be to find in this house?'
'Something that I suppose was once hidden here.'
'Buried treasure, are you talking about? Russian crown jewels hidden in the basement, that sort of thing?'
'No. Not treasure. Something that would be dangerous to someone.'
'Well, that's very odd,' said Tuppence.
'Why, have you found something?'
'No, of course, I haven't found anything. But it seems there was a scandal about this place donkey's years ago. I don't mean anyone actually remembers, but it's the sort of thing that your grandmother told you, or the servants gossiped about. Actually, Beatrice has a friend who seemed to know something about it. And Mary Jordan was mixed up in it. It was all very hush-hush.'
'Are you imagining things, Tuppence? Have you gone back to the glorious days of our youth, to the time when someone gave a girl on the Lusitania something secret, the days when we had adventure, when we tracked down the enigmatic Mr Brown?'
'Goodness, that was a long time ago, Tommy. The Young Adventurers we called ourselves. Doesn't seem real now, does it?'
'No, it doesn't. Not a bit. But it was real, yes, it was real all right. Such a lot of things are real though you can't really bring yourself to believe it. Must be at least sixty or seventy years ago. More than that, even.'
'What did Monty actually say?'
'Letters or papers of some kind,' said Tommy. 'Something that would have created or did create some great political upheaval of some kind. Someone in a position of power and who oughtn't to have been in a position of power, and there were letters, or papers, or something that would definitely cook his goose if they ever came to light. All sorts of intrigues and all happening years ago.'
'In the time of Mary Jordan? It sounds very unlikely,' said Tuppence. 'Tommy, you must have gone to sleep in the train coming back, and dreamt all this.'
'Well, perhaps I did,' said Tommy. 'It certainly doesn't seem likely.'
'Well, I suppose we might as well have a look around,' said Tuppence, 'as we are living
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