the telephone from London. She had been very much
surprised, for a telephone message from London to
Witanbury costs one-and-threepence, and James was
careful about such things. When he did telephone,
which was very seldom, he always waited to do so
till the evening, when the fee was halved. But today
James had rung up just before luncheon, and she had
heard his voice almost as though he were standing
by her side.

"Who's there? Oh, it's you, is it, Rose? I just
wanted to say that I shall probably be down Saturday
night. I shan't be able to be away more than one
night, worse luck. I suppose you've heard what's
happened?"

And then, as she had laughed -- she had really not
been able to help it (how very odd James was! He
evidently thought Witanbury _quite_ out of the world),
he had gone on, "It's a great bore, for it upsets
everything horribly. The one good point about it is
that it won't last long."

"How long?" she had called out.

And he had answered rather quickly, "You needn't
speak so loud. I hear you perfectly. How long?
Oh, I think it'll be over by October -- may be a little
before, but I should say October."

"Mother thinks there'll be a sort of Trafalgar!"

And then he had answered, speaking a little impatiently
for he was very overworked just then,
"Nothing of the sort! The people who will win this
war, and will win it quickly, are the Russians. We
have information that they will mobilise quickly --
much more quickly than most people think. You see,
my dear Rose," -- he was generally rather old-fash-

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v?