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The following stem-and-leaf output has been generated by Minitab. This data has a negative mode.

ANS: T PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.3

7. True or False
When some of the variables represent categories, we can apply a useful summarization method called
tabulation, where we simply count how many people or items are in each category or combination of
categories.

ANS: T PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.6

8. True or False
To more concisely communicate the information contained, raw data can be visually represented and
expressed in terms of statistical summary measures.

ANS: T PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.7

9. True or False
A histogram describes a frequency distribution by using a series of adjacent rectangles, each of
which has a length that is proportional to the frequency of observations within the range of values it
represents.

ANS: T PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.1

10. True or False

A frequency distribution may be converted to show either relative or cumulative frequencies for the
data.

ANS: T PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

11. True or False

The set of classes in the frequency distribution should be selected so that any given value falls into at
least one category.

ANS: F PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

12. True or False

The simple tabulation and cross-tabulation are tabular methods that can be extended to include the
mean or other measures of a selected quantitative variable for persons or items within a category or
combination of categories.

ANS: T PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.7

13. True or False

The width (class interval) of a frequency distribution class is the difference between the smallest and
largest values in a data set.
ANS: F PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following techniques are applicable to quantitative data?

a. The data array
b. Frequency distributions
c. Stem-and-leaf display
d. Scatter diagram and Dotplot
e. All of these
ANS: E PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.1

2. The midway point between the upper and lower class limits for a frequency distribution is known
as the:
a. class interval.
b. class width.
c. class mark.
d. class frequency.
e. class average.
ANS: C PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

3. The consists of line segments connecting the points formed by the intersections of the
class marks with the class frequencies.
a. frequency polygon
b. histogram
c. stem-and-leaf diagram
d. scatter plot
e. bar graph
ANS: A PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

4. The class interval is the:

a. number of categories of the frequency distribution.
b. number of data values falling within each class.
c. lower and upper limits of each class.
d. width of each class.
e. mid-point of each class.
ANS: D PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

5. The is a graphical display providing cumulative values for frequencies, relative

frequencies, or percentages.
a. stem-and-leaf display
b. dotplot
c. line graph
d. pie chart
e. ogive
ANS: E PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

6. Class limits are the:

a. number of categories of the frequency distribution.
b. number of data values falling within each class.
c. lower and upper boundaries of each class.
d. width of each class.
e. mid-point of each class.
ANS: C PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

7. The largest value in a set of data is 160, and the smallest value is 70. If the resulting frequency
distribution is to have six classes of equal width, what will be the class interval?
a. 15
b. 6
c. 12
d. 5
ANS: A PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

8. A requirement for a frequency distribution is that the set of classes must be mutually exclusive.
This means that
a. the set of classes must include all possible data values.
b. a given data value can fall into only one class.
c. the classes must have equal widths.
d. classes must have an upper limit.
e. classes must have a lower limit.
ANS: B PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

9. A frequency distribution is a(n):

a. table of the individual observations collected from a sample.
b. individual listing of the random values found in a data set.
c. listing of the individual observations arranged in ascending or descending order.
d. table, which classifies the number of data values into classes.
ANS: D PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

10. The relative frequency distribution describes the

a. number of observations that fall within each class.
b. proportion of observations that fall within each class.
c. number of observations that are within or below each of the classes.
d. proportion of observations that are within or below each of the classes.
e. None of these is correct.
ANS: B PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

11. The cumulative frequency distribution describes the

a. number of observations that fall within each class.
b. proportion of observations that fall within each class.
c. number of observations that are within or below each of the classes.
d. proportion of observations that are within or below each of the classes.
e. None of these is correct.
ANS: C PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

12. Which of the following is not a guideline for constructing a frequency distribution?
a. If possible, open-end classes should be avoided.
b. The set of classes must be mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
c. Whenever possible, the classes should have equal width.
d. Whenever possible, class widths should be round numbers.
e. All of these are guidelines for constructing a frequency distribution.
ANS: E PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

13. In a scatter diagram, data are represented as:

a. dots which allow us to readily see the shape of the distribution as well as the high and low values.
b. frequencies according to the relative length of a set of rectangles.
c. a subset of the original digits as class descriptors.
d. a circular display divided into sections based on the number of observations within the segments.
e. pairs of known values of two variables, one being referred to as independent and the other,
dependent.
ANS: E PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.5

14. In the stem-and-leaf display, data are represented as:

a. dots which allow us to readily see the shape of the distribution as well as the high and low values.
b. frequencies according to the relative length of a set of rectangles.
c. a subset of the original digits as class descriptors.
d. a circular display divided into sections based on the number of observations within the segments.
e. pairs of known values of two variables, one being referred to as independent and the other,
dependent.
ANS: C PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.3

15. A stem-and-leaf display describes two-digit integers between 20 and 80. For one of the classes
displayed, the row appears as 5|246. What numerical values are being described?
a. 25, 45, and 65
b. 60, 50, 40, and 20
c. 52, 54, and 56
d. 46 and 52
ANS: C PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.3

16. The following stem-and-leaf output has been generated by Minitab.

Which of the following statements are correct?

a. This data set has a mean that is negative.
b. This data set has a median less than -0.5
c. There is no modal class
d. This data set has six negative values
e. All of these are correct
ANS: E PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.3

17. The difference between a histogram and a bar chart is that:

a. the histogram reflects qualitative data while the bar chart represents quantitative data.
b. the adjacent rectangles in a histogram have a gap while those for a bar chart do not.
c. the histogram reflects quantitative data while the bar chart represents qualitative data.
d. the adjacent rectangles in a bar chart have a gap while those for a histogram usually do not.
e. Both answers C and D are correct.
ANS: E PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.4

18. In cross-tabulation:
a. data are represented in a table showing how many people or items are in combinations of
categories.
b. we can identify possible relationships between the variables.
c. data are represented as a circular display divided into sections based on the number of observations
within the segments.
d. data are represented as a pair of known values of two variables, one being referred to as
independent and the other, dependent.
e. Both A and B are correct.
ANS: E PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.6

19. In a , we can generate a display that describes how a selected qualitative variable
tends to differ from one category to another.
a. histogram
b. crosstab
c. relative frequency distribution
d. pie chart
e. line graph
ANS: B PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.6

NUMERIC RESPONSE

1. The following stem-and-leaf output has been generated by Minitab.

How many values are positive?

ANS: 4

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.3

2. The grades on a chemistry exam for a sample of 40 students are as follows:

Estimate the percentage of grades that are between 80 and 90.

ANS: 12.5%

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

COMPLETION

1. A cumulative frequency distribution lists the number of observations that are within or
each of the classes.

ANS: below

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

2. A relative frequency distribution describes the or

of data values that fall within each category.

ANS: proportion; percentage

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

3. The describes a frequency distribution by using a series of adjacent

rectangles with no gaps in-between, each of which has the length that is proportional to the frequency
of the observations within the range of values it represents.

ANS: histogram

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

4. is also known as marginal or one-way tabulation.

ANS: Simple tabulation

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.6

5. The is also known as the contingency table.

ANS: cross-tabulation

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.6

6. The is a diagram in which each point represents a pair of known or
observed values of two variables.

ANS: scatter diagram

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.5

7. The a variant of the frequency distribution, uses a subset of the original

digits in the raw data as class descriptors and class members.

ANS: stem-and-leaf display

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.3

SHORT ANSWER

1. A physician takes the following sample of blood cholesterol levels form a group of volunteers (one
reading per volunteer): 221, 202, 216, 227, 232, 218, 225, 234, 203, 247.
a. In what form, if any are these data organized?
b. Construct a frequency distribution, with class intervals of 10 points for these results.

ANS:
a. Raw data
b.
Cholesterol Number of Readings
200-209 2
210-219 2
220-229 3
230-239 2
240-249 1
PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

2.
Price of a Home Number of Homes Sold
Under $100,000 35
$100,000 – under $120,000 45
$120,000 – under $140,000 60
$140,000 – under $160,000 75
$160,000 – under $180,000 55
$180,000 – under $200,000 30

a. What is the frequency of the $120,000 – under $140,000 class?

b. What is the width of each class?
c. What is the class mark for the $140,000 – under $160,000 class?
d. If we were to convert thee data to a relative frequency distribution, what value would be associated
with the $180,000 – under $200,000 class?
e. For a cumulative frequency distribution (less than or within), what value would be associated with
the $160,000 – under $180,000 class?
f. For a cumulative relative frequency distribution (less than or within), what value would be
associated with the $100,000 – under $120,000 class?
ANS:
a. 60
b. $20,000
c. $150,000
d. 0.10
e. 270
f..2667

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

3. Voters participating in a recent election exit poll in Michigan were asked to state their political
party affiliation. Coding the data 1 for Democrat, 2 for Republican and 3 for Independent, the data
collected were as follows: 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 3

Develop a frequency distribution and proportion distribution for the data. What does the data suggest
about the strength of the political parties in Michigan?

ANS:

Party Frequency Proportion

Democrat 11 0.44
Republican 8 0.32
Independent 6 0.24
The Democratic Party in Michigan is stronger than the Republican and Independent parties.
PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

4. Consider the following cumulative frequency distribution.

Class Limits Cumulative Frequency

0 – under 5 10
5 – under 10 15
10 – under 15 21
15 – under 20 29
20 – under 25 36

Find the frequencies for each of the following classes:

a. 0 – under 5 b.
5 – under 10 c.
10 – under 15 d.
15 – under 20 e.
20 – under 25

ANS:
a. 10
b. 5
c. 6
d. 8
e. 7

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

5. The grades on a statistics exam for a sample of 40 students are as follows:

63 74 42 65 51 54 36 56 68 57
62 64 76 67 79 61 81 77 59 38
84 68 71 94 71 86 69 75 91 55
48 82 83 54 79 62 68 58 41 47

Construct frequency and relative frequency distributions for the data using seven class intervals.

ANS:
Class Limits Frequency Relative Frequency
30 up to 40 2 .050
40 up to 50 4 .100
50 up to 60 8 .200
60 up to 70 11 .275
70 up to 80 8 .200
80 up to 90 5 .125
90 up to 100 2 .050
TOTAL 40 1.000
PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

6. The following table represents exam grades from 36 students in a statistics class. Construct a stem-
and-leaf display.

60 79 75 84 85 74
81 95 89 58 66 98
99 99 62 86 85 99
79 82 98 72 72 72
75 88 86 81 96 86
78 91 83 85 92 68
ANS:
5|8
6|0268
7|222455899
8|1123455566689
9|125688999

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.3

7. The following table represents exam grades from 36 students in a statistics class. Construct a pie
chart using classes with grades 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90, and 91-100.

60 79 75 84 85 74
81 95 89 58 66 98
99 99 62 86 85 99
79 82 98 72 72 72
75 88 86 81 96 86
78 91 83 85 92 68
ANS:

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.4

8. A medical statistician wanted to examine the relationship between the amount of sunshine (x) and
incidence of skin cancer (y). As an experiment he found the number of skin cancers detected per
100,000 of population and the average daily sunshine in eight counties around the country. These
data are shown below.

Draw a scatter plot and find the least squares regression line.

ANS:

= -1.115 + 1.846x

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.5

9. The general manager of a chain of furniture stores believes that experience is the most important
factor in determining the level of success of a salesperson. To examine this belief she records last
month’s sales (in $1,000s) and the years of experience of 10 randomly selected salespeople. These
data are listed below.
Draw a scatter diagram of the data and determine the least squares regression line.

ANS:

= 8.63 + 1.0817x

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.5

10. The ages for a sample of 25 car dealers are as follows:

30 40 31 41 53 37 54 28 45 30
45 21 32 34 26 34 24 24 35 47
38 45 28 43 35
Use Minitab to draw each of the following graphs.
a. A stem and leaf plot
b. a dot plot

ANS:
a)
Stem-and-leaf of Age N = 25
Leaf Unit = 1.0

3 2 144
6 2 688
12 3 001244
(4) 3 5578
9 4 013
6 4 5557
2 5 34

b)

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.3

11. Voters participating in a recent election exit poll in Michigan were asked to state their political
party affiliation. Coding the data 1 for Republican, 2 for Democrat and 3 for Independent, the data
collected were as follows: 3, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 3, 2, 3, 1

Construct a frequency bar chart.

ANS:

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.4

12. A grocery store’s monthly sales (in thousands of dollars) for the last year was as follows:

Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Sales 78 74 83 87 85 93 100 105 103 89 78 94

Construct a line graph for these data.

ANS:
PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.4

13. The ages of a sample of 25 salespersons are as follows:

47 21 37 53 28 40 30 32 34
34 24 24 35 45 38 35 28 43
30 45 31 41 54 26 45

Use Excel or Minitab to draw a histogram with five classes.

ANS:

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

ESSAY

1. A friend has constructed the following frequency distribution of test scores in his business
statistics class:
Score Number of Students
40 and below 2
40 – 50 6
50 – 60 8
60 – 70 13
70 – 80 11
80 – 90 5
90 and above 4

He asks for your feedback. What advice would you give him?

ANS:
Your friend needs to revise the distribution. The classes are not mutually exclusive (they overlap).
Also, some classes are open-ended (“40 and below,” “90 and above”) and not of equal width.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

2. What is the relationship between a frequency distribution and a histogram?

ANS:
The frequency distribution is a table that divides the data values into classes and shows the number of
observed values that fall into each class. The histogram describes the frequency distribution by using
a series of adjacent rectangles, each of which has a length proportional to the frequency of the
observations within the range of values or class it represents.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

3. Discuss the importance of choosing a symbol for a pictogram.

ANS:
Choosing a symbol in a pictogram is an important consideration because the right or wrong symbol
can lend nonverbal or emotional content to the display which can have an impact on how the data is
interpreted.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.4

4. Discuss the guidelines that are recommended for constructing a frequency distribution.

ANS:
The guidelines for constructing a frequency distribution are: a. The set of classes must be mutually
exclusive, with no overlaps. b. Set of classes must be exhaustive. c. If possible the classes should
have equal widths. d. In general, about 5 to 15 classes will be suitable. e. When possible, class widths
should be round numbers. f. Avoid using open-end classes.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.2

5. A recent Wall Street Journal poll asked a sample of professional, white collar, and blue-collar
workers whether they felt legal immigration had a positive effect on the United States. The responses
were graphed as follows:

Identify the type of chart shown, and describe the information it gives.

ANS:
This is a pie chart. It shows that 39% of professionals, 35% of white-collar workers, and 26% of
blue-collar workers think legal immigration is positive for the U.S.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.4

6. What is the difference between a histogram and a bar chart? For what type of data would each be
appropriate?
ANS:
A histogram graphically displays class intervals as well as class frequencies. A bar chart displays the
frequencies for a set of categories or classes. Histograms are appropriate for quantitative data, while
bar charts are better for qualitative data. Adjacent rectangles in the histogram share a common side
while those in the bar chart have a gap between them.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.4

7. What is a scatter diagram, and for what kind of data is it a useful descriptive device?

ANS:
A scatter diagram is a plot in which each point represents a pair of known or observed values of x
and y. The variables are represented on the horizontal (x) and vertical (y) axes. The scatter diagram is
useful in examining whether the variables might be related to each other in some way.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.5

8. Differentiate between a positive linear relationship and a negative linear relationship between
variables.

ANS:
In a positive linear relationship, y tends to increase linearly with increases in x. In a negative linear
relationship, y tends to decrease linearly as x increases.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.5

9. A professor of economics wants to study the relationship between income and education. A sample
of 10 individuals is selected at random, and their income (in thousand of dollars) and education (in
years) are shown below:

Draw a scatter diagram for these data with the income on the vertical axis. Describe the relationship
between income and education.

ANS:

There is a very strong positive relationship between education and income; as years of education
increase, there is a definite tendency for income to linearly increase.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.5

10. The general manager of a chain of furniture stores believes that experience is the most important
factor in determining the level of success of a salesperson. To examine this belief she records last
month’s sales (in $1,000s) and the years of experience of 10 randomly selected salespeople. These
data are listed below.

Interpret the value of the slope of the regression line.

ANS:
For each additional year of experience, monthly sales of a salesperson increase on average by
$1,081.70.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.5

11. When variables are used as the basis for a cross-tabulation, what scale of measurement must they
represent?

ANS:
The classificatory variables that represent the rows and columns in cross-tabulation (contingency
tables) will be in the nominal scale of measurement. The variables described within the table can be
nominal (categories) when counts are being expressed. They can be interval or ratio when measures
such as the mean or median are being expressed.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.6

12. Define and give a real or hypothetical example of simple tabulation.

ANS:
Simple tabulation involves just one variable. Example: we may express a count of how many
students in a class are males and how many are females.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.6

13. Define and give a real or hypothetical example of cross-tabulation.

ANS:
In cross-tabulation, we express a count of how many people or items are in combinations of
categories. Example: we may express a count of how many students in a class are males majoring in
accounting and how many are females majoring in finance.

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.6

14. A recent Wall Street Journal survey found that 523 Democrats and 765 Republicans and believe
legal immigration has a positive effect on the Untied States. Display this data in a bar chart.

ANS:

PTS: 1 OBJ: Section 2.4

Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 “I knew you’d think of something, Liz,” said Mr.
Cootes, almost humbly. “You always were a wonder
like that. How am I to get him alone?”
“I can fix that. I’ll ask him to come for a stroll with
me. He’s not what you’d call crazy about me, but he
can’t very well duck if I keep after him. We’ll go down
the drive. You’ll be in the bushes—I’ll show you the
place. Then I’ll send him to fetch me a wrap or
something, and while I walk on he’ll come back past
where you’re hiding, and you jump out at him.”
“Liz,” said Mr. Cootes, lost in admiration, “when it
comes to doping out a scheme, you’re the snake’s
eyebrows!”
“But what are you going to do if he just turns you
down?”
Mr. Cootes uttered a bleak laugh, and from the
recesses of his costume produced a neat little
revolver.
“He won’t turn me down!” he said.
 §5

“Fancy!” said Miss Peavey. “If I had not had a

headache and come back early, we should never have
had this little chat!”
She gazed up at Psmith in her gentle, wistful way
as they started together down the broad gravel drive.
A timid, soulful little thing she looked.
“No,” said Psmith.
It was not a gushing reply, but he was not feeling
at his sunniest. The idea that Miss Peavey might
return from Bridgeford in advance of the main body
had not occurred to him. As he would have said
himself, he had confused the Unlikely with the
Impossible. And the result had been that she had
caught him beyond hope of retreat as he sat in his
garden-chair and thought of Eve Halliday, who on
their return from the lake had been seized with a
fresh spasm of conscience and had gone back to the
library to put in another hour’s work before dinner. To
decline Miss Peavey’s invitation to accompany her
down the drive in order to see if there were any signs
of those who had been doing honour to the late
Hartley Reddish, M.P., had been out of the question.
But Psmith, though he went, went without pleasure.
Every moment he spent in her society tended to
confirm him more and more in the opinion that Miss
Peavey was the curse of the species.
 “And I have been so longing,” continued his
companion, “to have a nice, long talk. All these days I
have felt that I haven’t been able to get as near you
as I should wish.”
“Well, of course, with the others always about . . .”
“I meant in a spiritual sense, of course.”
“I see.”
“I wanted so much to discuss your wonderful
poetry with you. You haven’t so much as mentioned
your work since you came here. Have you!”
“Ah, but, you see, I am trying to keep my mind off
it.”
“Really? Why?”
“My medical adviser warned me that I had been
concentrating a trifle too much. He offered me the
choice, in fact, between a complete rest and the
loony-bin.”
“The what, Mr. McTodd?”
“The lunatic asylum, he meant. These medical men
express themselves oddly.”
“But surely, then, you ought not to dream of trying
to compose if it is as bad as that? And you told Lord
Emsworth that you wished to stay at home this
afternoon to write a poem.”
Her glance showed nothing but tender solicitude,
but inwardly Miss Peavey was telling herself that that
would hold him for awhile.
“True,” said Psmith, “true. But you know what Art
is. An inexorable mistress. The inspiration came, and I
felt that I must take the risk. But it has left me weak,
weak.”
“You BIG STIFF!” said Miss Peavey. But not aloud.
They walked on a few steps.
“In fact,” said Psmith, with another inspiration, “I’m
not sure I ought not to be going back and resting
now.”
Miss Peavey eyed a clump of bushes some dozen
yards farther down the drive. They were quivering
slightly, as though they sheltered some alien body;
and Miss Peavey, whose temper was apt to be
impatient, registered a resolve to tell Edward Cootes
that, if he couldn’t hide behind a bush without
dancing about like a cat on hot bricks, he had better
give up his profession and take to selling jellied eels.
In which, it may be mentioned, she wronged her old
friend. He had been as still as a statue until a
moment before, when a large and excitable beetle
had fallen down the space between his collar and his
neck, an experience which might well have tried the
subtlest woodsman.
“Oh, please don’t go in yet,” said Miss Peavey. “It is
such a lovely evening. Hark to the music of the
breeze in the tree-tops. So soothing. Like a far-away
harp. I wonder if it is whispering secrets to the birds.”
Psmith forbore to follow her into this region of
speculation, and they walked past the bushes in
silence.
Some little distance farther on, however, Miss
Peavey seemed to relent.
 “You are looking tired, Mr. McTodd,” she said
anxiously. “I am afraid you really have been
overtaxing your strength. Perhaps after all you had
better go back and lie down.”
“You think so?”
“I am sure of it. I will just stroll on to the gates
and see if the car is in sight.”
“I feel that I am deserting you.”
“Oh, please!” said Miss Peavey deprecatingly.
With something of the feelings of a long-sentence
convict unexpectedly released immediately on his
arrival in jail, Psmith retraced his steps. Glancing over
his shoulder, he saw that Miss Peavey had
disappeared round a bend in the drive; and he
paused to light a cigarette. He had just thrown away
the match and was walking on, well content with life,
when a voice behind him said “Hey!” and the well-
remembered form of Mr. Edward Cootes stepped out
of the bushes.
“See this?” said Mr. Cootes, exhibiting his revolver.
“I do indeed, Comrade Cootes,” replied Psmith.
“And, if it is not an untimely question, what is the
idea?”
“That,” said Mr. Cootes, “is just in case you try any
funny business.” And, replacing the weapon in a
handy pocket, he proceeded to slap vigorously at the
region between his shoulder blades. He also wriggled
with not a little animation.
Psmith watched these manœuvres gravely.
 “You did not stop me at the pistol’s point merely to
watch you go through your Swedish exercises?” he
said.
Mr. Cootes paused for an instant.
“Got a beetle or something down my back,” he
explained curtly.
“Ah? Then, as you will naturally wish to be alone in
such a sad moment, I will be bidding you a cordial
good evening and strolling on.”
“No, you don’t!”
“Don’t I?” said Psmith resignedly. “Perhaps you are
right, perhaps you are right.” Mr. Cootes replaced the
revolver once more. “I take it, then, Comrade Cootes,
that you would have speech with me. Carry on, old
friend, and get it off your diaphragm. What seems to
be on your mind?”
A lucky blow appeared to have stunned Mr.
Cootes’s beetle, and he was able to give his full
attention to the matter in hand. He stared at Psmith
with considerable distaste.
“I’m on to you, Bill!” he said.
“My name is not Bill,” said Psmith.
“No,” snapped Mr. Cootes, his annoyance by this
time very manifest. “And it’s not McTodd.”
Psmith looked at his companion thoughtfully. This
was an unforeseen complication, and for the moment
he would readily have admitted that he saw no way of
overcoming it. That the other was in no genial frame
of mind towards him the expression on his face would
have showed, even if his actions had not been
sufficient indication of the fact. Mr. Cootes, having
disposed of his beetle and being now at leisure to
concentrate his whole attention on Psmith, was
eyeing that immaculate young man with a dislike
which he did not attempt to conceal.
“Shall we be strolling on?” suggested Psmith.
“Walking may assist thought. At the moment I am
free to confess that you have opened up a subject
which causes me some perplexity. I think, Comrade
Cootes, having given the position of affairs a careful
examination, that we may say that the next move is
with you. What do you propose to do about it?”
“I’d like,” said Mr. Cootes with asperity, “to beat
your block off.”
“No doubt. But . . .”
“I’d like to knock you for a goal!”
Psmith discouraged these Utopian dreams with a
deprecating wave of the hand.
“I can readily understand it,” he said courteously.
“But, to keep within the sphere of practical politics,
what is the actual move which you contemplate? You
could expose me, no doubt, to my host, but I cannot
see how that would profit you.”
“I know that. But you can remember I’ve got that
up my sleeve in case you try any funny business.”
“You persist in harping on that possibility, Comrade
Cootes. The idea seems to be an obsession with you.
I can assure you that I contemplate no such thing.
What, to return to the point, do you intend to do?”
 They had reached the broad expanse opposite the
front door, where the drive, from being a river, spread
out into a lake of gravel. Psmith stopped.
“You’ve got to get me into this joint,” said Mr.
Cootes.
“I feared that that was what you were about to
suggest. In my peculiar position I have naturally no
choice but to endeavour to carry out your wishes. Any
attempt not to do so would, I imagine, infallibly strike
so keen a critic as yourself as ‘funny business.’ But
how can I get you into what you breezily describe as
‘this joint’?”
“You can say I’m a friend of yours and ask them to
invite me.”
Psmith shook his head gently.
“Not one of your brightest suggestions, Comrade
Cootes. Tactfully refraining from stressing the point
that an instant lowering of my prestige would
inevitably ensue should it be supposed that you were
a friend of mine, I will merely mention that, being
myself merely a guest in this stately home of England,
I can hardly go about inviting my chums here for
indefinite visits. No, we must find another way. . . .
You’re sure you want to stay? Quite so, quite so, I
merely asked. . . . Now, let us think.”
Through the belt of rhododendrons which jutted
out from one side of the castle a portly form at this
point made itself visible, moving high and disposedly
in the direction of the back premises. It was Beach,
the butler, returning from the pleasant ramble in
which he had indulged himself on the departure of his
employer and the rest of the party. Revived by some
gracious hours in the open air, Beach was returning to
duty. And with the sight of him there came to Psmith
a neat solution of the problem confronting him.
“Oh, Beach,” he called.
“Sir?” responded a fruity voice. There was a brief
pause while the butler navigated into the open. He
removed the straw hat which he had donned for his
excursion, and enfolded Psmith in a pop-eyed but not
unkindly gaze. A thoughtful critic of country-house
humanity, he had long since decided that he approved
of Psmith. Since Lady Constance had first begun to
offer the hospitality of the castle to the literary and
artistic world, he had been profoundly shocked by
some of the rare and curious specimens who had
nodded their disordered locks and flaunted their ill-cut
evening clothes at the dinner-table over which he
presided; and Psmith had come as a pleasant
surprise.
“Sorry to trouble you, Beach.”
“Not at all, sir.”
“This,” said Psmith, indicating Mr. Cootes, who was
viewing the scene with a wary and suspicious eye, an
eye obviously alert for any signs of funny business, “is
my man. My valet, you know. He has just arrived from
town. I had to leave him behind to attend the bedside
of a sick aunt. Your aunt was better when you came
away, Cootes?” he inquired graciously.
 Mr. Cootes correctly interpreted this question as a
feeler with regard to his views on this new
development, and decided to accept the situation.
True, he had hoped to enter the castle in a slightly
higher capacity than that of a gentleman’s personal
gentleman, but he was an old campaigner. Once in,
as he put it to himself with admirable common sense,
he would be in.
“Yes, sir,” he replied.
“Capital,” said Psmith. “Capital. Then will you look
after Cootes, Beach.”
“Very good, sir,” said the butler in a voice of cordial
approval. The only point he had found to cavil at in
Psmith had been removed; for it had hitherto pained
him a little that a gentleman with so nice a taste in
clothes as that dignified guest should have embarked
on a visit to such a place as Blandings Castle without
a personal attendant. Now all was explained and, as
far as Beach was concerned, forgiven. He proceeded
to escort Mr. Cootes to the rear. They disappeared
behind the rhododendrons.
They had hardly gone when a sudden thought
came to Psmith as he sat once more in the coolness
of the hall. He pressed the bell. Strange, he reflected,
how one overlooked these obvious things. That was
how generals lost battles.
“Sir?” said Beach, appearing through the green
baize door.
“Sorry to trouble you again, Beach.”
“Not at all, sir.”
 “I hope you will make Cootes comfortable. I think
you will like him. His, when you get to know him, is a
very winning personality.”
“He seems a nice young fellow, sir.”
“Oh, by the way, Beach. You might ask him if he
brought my revolver from town with him.”
“Yes, sir,” said Beach, who would have scorned to
betray emotion if it had been a Lewis gun.
“I think I saw it sticking out of his pocket. You
might bring it to me, will you?”
“Very good, sir.”
Beach retired, to return a moment later. On the
silver salver which he carried the lethal weapon was
duly reposing.
“Your revolver, sir,” said Beach.
“Thank you,” said Psmith.
 §6

For some moments after the butler had withdrawn

in his stately pigeon-toed way through the green
baize door, Psmith lay back in his chair with the
feeling that something attempted, something done,
had earned a night’s repose. He was not so sanguine
as to suppose that he had actually checkmated an
adversary of Mr. Cootes’s strenuousness by the simple
act of removing a revolver from his possession; but
there was no denying the fact that the feel of the
thing in his pocket engendered a certain cosy
satisfaction. The little he had seen of Mr. Cootes had
been enough to convince him that the other was a
man who was far better off without an automatic
pistol. There was an impulsiveness about his
character which did not go well with the possession of
fire-arms.
Psmith’s meditations had taken him thus far when
they were interrupted by an imperative voice.
“Hey!”
Only one person of Psmith’s acquaintance was in
the habit of opening his remarks in this manner. It
was consequently no surprise to him to find Mr.
Edward Cootes standing at his elbow.
“Hey!”
“All right, Comrade Cootes,” said Psmith with a
touch of austerity, “I heard you the first time. And
may I remind you that this habit of yours of popping
out from unexpected places and saying ‘Hey!’ is one
which should be overcome. Valets are supposed to
wait till rung for. At least, I think so. I must confess
that until this moment I have never had a valet.”
“And you wouldn’t have one now if I could help it,”
responded Mr. Cootes.
Psmith raised his eyebrows.
“Why,” he inquired, surprised, “this peevishness?
Don’t you like being a valet?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You astonish me. I should have thought you
would have gone singing about the house. Have you
considered that the tenancy of such a position throws
you into the constant society of Comrade Beach, than
whom it would be difficult to imagine a more
delightful companion?”
“Old stiff!” said Mr. Cootes sourly. “If there’s one
thing that makes me tired, it’s a guy that talks about
his darned stomach all the time.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The Beach gook,” explained Mr. Cootes, “has got
something wrong with the lining of his stomach, and
if I hadn’t made my getaway he’d be talking about it
yet.”
“If you fail to find entertainment and uplift in first-
hand information about Comrade Beach’s stomach,
you must indeed be hard to please. I am to take it,
then, that you came snorting out here, interrupting
my daydreams, merely in order to seek my
sympathy?”
 Mr. Cootes gazed upon him with a smouldering
eye.
“I came to tell you I suppose you think you’re
darned smart.”
“And very nice of you, too,” said Psmith, touched.
“A pretty compliment, for which I am not ungrateful.”
“You got that gun away from me mighty smoothly,
didn’t you?”
“Since you mention it, yes.”
“And now I suppose you think you’re going to slip
in ahead of me and get away with that necklace?
Well, say, listen, lemme tell you it’ll take someone
better than a half-baked string-bean like you to put
one over on me.”
“I seem,” said Psmith, pained, “to detect a certain
animus creeping into your tone. Surely we can be
trade rivals without this spirit of hostility. My attitude
towards you is one of kindly tolerance.”
“Even if you get it, where do you think you’re
going to hide it? And, believe me, it’ll take some
hiding. Say, lemme tell you something. I’m your valet,
ain’t I? Well, then, I can come into your room and be
tidying up whenever I darn please, can’t I? Sure I
can. I’ll tell the world I can do just that little thing.
And you take it from me, Bill . . .”
“You persist in the delusion that my name is
William . . .”
“You take it from me, Bill, that if ever that necklace
disappears and it isn’t me that’s done the
disappearing, you’ll find me tidying up in a way that’ll
make you dizzy. I’ll go through that room of yours
with a fine-tooth comb. So chew on that, will you?”
And Edward Cootes, moving sombrely across the
hall, made a sinister exit. The mood of cool reflection
was still to come, when he would realise that, in his
desire to administer what he would have described as
a hot one, he had acted a little rashly in putting his
enemy on his guard. All he was thinking now was that
his brief sketch of the position of affairs would have
the effect of diminishing Psmith’s complacency a trifle.
He had, he flattered himself, slipped over something
that could be classed as a jolt.
Nor was he unjustified in this view. The aspect of
the matter on which he had touched was one that
had not previously presented itself to Psmith: and,
musing on it as he resettled himself in his chair, he
could see that it afforded food for thought. As
regarded the disposal of the necklace, should it ever
come into his possession, he had formed no definite
plan. He had assumed that he would conceal it
somewhere until the first excitement of the chase
slackened, and it was only now that he realised the
difficulty of finding a suitable hiding-place outside his
bedroom. Yes, it was certainly a matter on which, as
Mr. Cootes had suggested, he would do well to chew.
For ten minutes, accordingly, he did so. And—it being
practically impossible to keep a good man down—at
the end of that period he was rewarded with an idea.
He rose from his chair and pressed the bell.
 “Ah, Beach,” he said affably, as the green baize
door swung open, “I must apologise once more for
troubling you. I keep ringing, don’t I?”
“No trouble at all, sir,” responded the butler
paternally. “But if you were ringing to summon your
personal attendant, I fear he is not immediately
available. He left me somewhat abruptly a few
moments ago. I was not aware that you would be
requiring his services until the dressing-gong
sounded, or I would have detained him.”
“Never mind. It was you I wished to see. Beach,”
said Psmith, “I am concerned about you. I learn from
my man that the lining of your stomach is not all it
should be.”
“That is true, sir,” replied Beach, an excited gleam
coming into his dull eyes. He shivered slightly, as
might a war-horse at the sound of the bugle. “I do
have trouble with the lining of my stomach.”
“Every stomach has a silver lining.”
“Sir?”
“I said, tell me all about it.”
“Well, really, sir . . .” said Beach wistfully.
“To please me,” urged Psmith.
“Well, sir, it is extremely kind of you to take an
interest. It generally starts with a dull shooting pain
on the right side of the abdomen from twenty
minutes to half an hour after the conclusion of a
meal. The symptoms . . .”
There was nothing but courteous sympathy in
Psmith’s gaze as he listened to what sounded like an
eyewitness’s account of the San Francisco
earthquake, but inwardly he was wishing that his
companion could see his way to making it a bit briefer
and snappier. However, all things come to an end.
Even the weariest river winds somewhere to the sea.
With a moving period, the butler finally concluded his
narrative.
“Parks’ Pepsinine,” said Psmith promptly.
“Sir?”
“That’s what you want. Parks’ Pepsinine. It would
set you right in no time.”
“I will make a note of the name, sir. The specific
has not come to my notice until now. And, if I may
say so,” added Beach, with a glassy but adoring look
at his benefactor, “I should like to express my
gratitude for your kindness.”
“Not at all, Beach, not at all. Oh, Beach,” he said,
as the other started to manœuvre towards the door,
“I’ve just remembered. There was something else I
wanted to talk to you about.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I thought it might be as well to speak to you
about it before approaching Lady Constance. The fact
is, Beach, I am feeling cramped.”
“Indeed, sir? I forgot to mention that one of the
symptoms from which I suffer is a sharp cramp.”
“Too bad. But let us, if you do not mind, shelve for
the moment the subject of your interior organism and
its ailments. When I say I am feeling cramped, I
mean spiritually. Have you ever written poetry,
Beach?”
“No, sir.”
“Ah! Then it may be a little difficult for you to
understand my feelings. My trouble is this. Out in
Canada, Beach, I grew accustomed to doing my work
in the most solitary surroundings. You remember that
passage in my Songs of Squalor which begins ‘Across
the pale parabola of Joy . . .’?”
“I fear, sir . . .”
“You missed it? Tough luck. Try to get hold of it
some time. It’s a bird. Well, that passage was written
in a lonely hut on the banks of the Saskatchewan,
miles away from human habitation. I am like that,
Beach. I need the stimulus of the great open spaces.
When I am surrounded by my fellows, inspiration
slackens and dies. You know how it is when there are
people about. Just as you are starting in to write a
nifty, someone comes and sits down on the desk and
begins talking about himself. Every time you get going
nicely, in barges some alien influence and the Muse
goes blooey. You see what I mean?”
“Yes, sir,” said Beach, gaping slightly.
“Well, that is why for a man like me existence in
Blandings Castle has its drawbacks. I have got to get
a place where I can be alone, Beach—alone with my
dreams and visions. Some little eyrie perched on the
cliffs of Time. . . . In other words, do you know of an
empty cottage somewhere on the estate where I
could betake myself when in the mood and swing a
nib without any possibility of being interrupted?”
“A little cottage, sir?”
“A little cottage. With honeysuckle over the door,
and Old Mister Moon climbing up above the trees. A
cottage, Beach, where I can meditate, where I can
turn the key in the door and bid the world go by. Now
that the castle is going to be full of all these people
who are coming for the County Ball, it is imperative
that I wangle such a haven. Otherwise, a considerable
slab of priceless poetry will be lost to humanity for
ever.”
“You desire,” said Beach, feeling his way cautiously,
“a small cottage where you can write poetry, sir?”
“You follow me like a leopard. Do you know of such
a one?”
“There is an unoccupied gamekeeper’s cottage in
the west wood, sir, but it is an extremely humble
place.”
“Be it never so humble, it will do for me. Do you
think Lady Constance would be offended if I were to
ask for the loan of it for a few days?”
“I fancy that her ladyship would receive the
request with equanimity, sir. She is used to . . . She is
not unaccustomed . . . Well, I can only say, sir, that
there was a literary gentleman visiting the castle last
summer who expressed a desire to take sun-baths in
the garden each morning before breakfast. In the
nood, sir. And, beyond instructing me to warn the
maids, her ladyship placed no obstacle in the way of
the fulfilment of his wishes. So . . .”
“So a modest request like mine isn’t likely to cause
a heart-attack? Admirable! You don’t know what it
means to me to feel that I shall soon have a little
refuge of my own, to which I can retreat and be in
solitude.”
“I can imagine that it must be extremely gratifying,
sir.”
“Then I will put the motion before the Board
directly Lady Constance returns.”
“Very good, sir.”
“I should like to splash it on the record once more,
Beach, that I am much obliged to you for your
sympathy and advice in this matter. I knew you would
not fail me.”
“Not at all, sir. I am only too glad to have been
able to be of assistance.”
“Oh, and, Beach . . .”
“Sir?”
“Just one other thing. Will you be seeing Cootes,
my valet, again shortly?”
“Quite shortly, sir, I should imagine.”
“Then would you mind just prodding him smartly in
the lower ribs . . .”
“Sir?” cried Beach, startled out of his butlerian
calm. He swallowed a little convulsively. For eighteen
months and more, ever since Lady Constance Keeble
had first begun to cast her fly and hook over the
murky water of the artistic world and jerk its denizens
on to the pile carpets of Blandings Castle, Beach had
had his fill of eccentricity. But until this moment he
had hoped that Psmith was going to prove an
agreeable change from the stream of literary lunatics
which had been coming and going all that weary
time. And lo! Psmith’s name led all the rest. Even the
man who had come for a week in April and had
wanted to eat jam with his fish paled in comparison.
“Prod him in the ribs, sir?” he quavered.
“Prod him in the ribs,” said Psmith firmly. “And at
the same time whisper in his ear the word ‘Aha!’”
Beach licked his dry lips.
“Aha, sir?”
“Aha! And say it came from me.”
“Very good, sir. The matter shall be attended to,”
said Beach. And with a muffled sound that was half a
sigh, half a death-rattle, he tottered through the
green-baize door.
 CHAPTER X
SENSATIONAL OCCURRENCE AT A POETRY READING

§1

BREAKFAST was over, and the guests of Blandings

had scattered to their morning occupations. Some
were writing letters, some were in the billiard-room:
some had gone to the stables, some to the links: Lady
Constance was interviewing the housekeeper, Lord
Emsworth harrying head-gardener McAllister among
the flower-beds: and in the Yew Alley, the dappled
sunlight falling upon her graceful head, Miss Peavey
walked pensively up and down.
She was alone. It is a sad but indisputable fact that
in this imperfect world Genius is too often condemned
to walk alone—if the earthier members of the
community see it coming and have time to duck. Not
one of the horde of visitors who had arrived overnight
for the County Ball had shown any disposition
whatever to court Miss Peavey’s society.
One regrets this. Except for that slight bias towards
dishonesty which led her to steal everything she could
lay her hands on that was not nailed down, Aileen
Peavey’s was an admirable character; and, oddly
enough, it was the noble side of her nature to which
these coarse-fibred critics objected. Of Miss Peavey,
the purloiner of other people’s goods, they knew
nothing; the woman they were dodging was Miss
Peavey, the poetess. And it may be mentioned that,
however much she might unbend in the presence of a
congenial friend like Mr. Edward Cootes, she was a
perfectly genuine poetess. Those six volumes under
her name in the British Museum catalogue were her
own genuine and unaided work: and, though she had
been compelled to pay for the production of the first
of the series, the other five had been brought out at
her publisher’s own risk, and had even made a little
money.
Miss Peavey, however, was not sorry to be alone:
for she had that on her mind which called for solitary
thinking. The matter engaging her attention was the
problem of what on earth had happened to Mr.
Edward Cootes. Two days had passed since he had
left her to go and force Psmith at the pistol’s point to
introduce him into the castle: and since that moment
he had vanished completely. Miss Peavey could not
understand it.
His non-appearance was all the more galling in that
her superb brain had just completed in every detail a
scheme for the seizure of Lady Constance Keeble’s
diamond necklace; and to the success of this plot his
aid was an indispensable adjunct. She was in the
position of a general who comes from his tent with a
plan of battle all mapped out, and finds that his army
has strolled off somewhere and left him. Little wonder
that, as she paced the Yew Alley, there was a frown
on Miss Peavey’s fair forehead.
The Yew Alley, as Lord Emsworth had indicated in
his extremely interesting lecture to Mr. Ralston
McTodd at the Senior Conservative Club, contained
among other noteworthy features certain yews which
rose in solid blocks with rounded roof and stemless
mushroom finials, the majority possessing arched
recesses, forming arbors. As Miss Peavey was passing
one of these, a voice suddenly addressed her.
“Hey!”
Miss Peavey started violently.
“Anyone about?”
A damp face with twigs sticking to it was
protruding from a near-by yew. It rolled its eyes in an
ineffectual effort to see round the corner.
Miss Peavey drew nearer, breathing heavily. The
question as to the whereabouts of her wandering boy
was solved; but the abruptness of his return had
caused her to bite her tongue; and joy, as she
confronted him, was blended with other emotions.
“You dish-faced gazooni!” she exclaimed heatedly,
her voice trembling with a sense of ill-usage, “where
do you get that stuff, hiding in trees, and barking a
girl’s head off?”
“Sorry, Liz. I . . .”
“And where,” proceeded Miss Peavey, ventilating
another grievance, “have you been all this darned
time? Gosh-dingit, you leave me a coupla days back
saying you’re going to stick up this bozo that calls
himself McTodd with a gat and make him get you into
the house, and that’s the last I see of you. What’s the
big idea?”
“It’s all right, Liz. He did get me into the house. I’m
his valet. That’s why I couldn’t get at you before. The
way the help has to keep itself to itself in this joint,
we might as well have been in different counties. If I
hadn’t happened to see you snooping off by yourself
this morning . . .”
Miss Peavey’s keen mind grasped the position of
affairs.
“All right, all right,” she interrupted, ever impatient
of long speeches from others. “I understand. Well,
this is good, Ed. It couldn’t have worked out better.
I’ve got a scheme all doped out, and now you’re here
we can get busy.”
“A scheme?”
“A pippin,” assented Miss Peavey.
“It’ll need to be,” said Mr. Cootes, on whom the
events of the last few days had caused pessimism to
set its seal. “I tell you that McTodd gook is smooth.
He somehow,” said Mr. Cootes prudently, for he feared
harsh criticisms from his lady-love should he reveal
the whole truth, “he somehow got wise to the notion
that, as I was his valet, I could go and snoop round in
his room, where he’d be wanting to hide the stuff if
he ever got it, and now he’s gone and got them to let
him have a kind of shack in the woods.”
“H’m!” said Miss Peavey. “Well,” she resumed after
a thoughtful pause, “I’m not worrying about him. Let
him go and roost in the woods all he wants to. I’ve
got a scheme all ready, and it’s gilt-edged. And,
unless you ball up your end of it, Ed, it can’t fail to
drag home the gravy.”
“Am I in it?”
“You bet you’re in it. I can’t work it without you.
That’s what’s been making me so darned mad when
you didn’t show up all this time.”
“Spill it, Liz,” said Mr. Cootes humbly. As always in
the presence of this dynamic woman, he was
suffering from an inferiority complex. From the very
start of their combined activities she had been the
brains of the firm, he merely the instrument to carry
into effect the plans she dictated.
Miss Peavey glanced swiftly up and down the Yew
Alley. It was still the same peaceful, lonely spot. She
turned to Mr. Cootes again, and spoke with brisk
decision.
“Now, listen, Ed, and get this straight, because
maybe I shan’t have another chance of talking to
you.”
“I’m listening,” said Mr. Cootes obsequiously.
“Well, to begin with, now that the house is full, Her
Nibs is wearing that necklace every night. And you
can take it from me, Ed, that you want to put on your
smoked glasses before you look at it. It’s a
lalapaloosa.”
“As good as that?”
“Ask me! You don’t know the half of it.”
 “Where does she keep it, Liz? Have you found that
out?” asked Mr. Cootes, a gleam of optimism playing
across his sad face for an instant.
“No, I haven’t. And I don’t want to. I’ve not got
time to waste monkeying about with safes and maybe
having the whole bunch pile on the back of my neck.
I believe in getting things easy. Well, to-night this
bimbo that calls himself McTodd is going to give a
reading of his poems in the big drawing-room. You
know where that is?”
“I can find out.”
“And you better had find out,” said Miss Peavey
vehemently. “And before to-night at that. Well, there
you are. Do you begin to get wise?”
Mr. Cootes, his head protruding unhappily from the
yew tree, would have given much to have been able
to make the demanded claim to wisdom, for he knew
of old the store his alert partner set upon quickness of
intellect. He was compelled, however, to disturb the
branches by shaking his head.
“You always were pretty dumb,” said Miss Peavey
with scorn. “I’ll say that you’ve got good solid
qualities, Ed—from the neck up. Why, I’m going to sit
behind Lady Constance while that goof is shooting his
fool head off, and I’m going to reach out and grab
that necklace off of her. See?”
“But, Liz”—Mr. Cootes diffidently summoned up
courage to point out what appeared to him to be a
flaw in the scheme—“if you start any strong-arm work
in front of everybody like the way you say, won’t
they . . . ?”
“No, they won’t. And I’ll tell you why they won’t.
They aren’t going to see me do it, because when I do
it it’s going to be good and dark in that room. And it’s
going to be dark because you’ll be somewheres out at
the back of the house, wherever they keep the main
electric-light works, turning the switch as hard as you
can go. See? That’s your end of it, and pretty soft for
you at that. All you have to do is to find out where
the thing is and what you have to do to it to put out
all the lights in the joint. I guess I can trust you not
to bungle that?”
“Liz,” said Mr. Cootes, and there was reverence in
his voice, “you can do just that little thing. But
what . . . ?”
“All right, I know what you’re going to say. What
happens after that, and how do I get away with the
stuff? Well, the window’ll be open, and I’ll just get to
it and fling the necklace out. See? There’ll be a big
fuss going on in the room on account of the darkness
and all that, and while everybody’s cutting up and
what-the-helling, you’ll pick up your dogs and run
round as quick as you can make it and pouch the
thing. I guess it won’t be hard for you to locate it.
The window’s just over the terrace, all smooth turf,
and it isn’t real dark nights now, and you ought to
have plenty of time to hunt around before they can
get the lights going again. . . . Well, what do you
think of it?” There was a brief silence.
 “Liz,” said Mr. Cootes at length.
“Is it or is it not,” demanded Miss Peavey, “a ball of
fire?”
“Liz,” said Mr. Cootes, and his voice was husky with
such awe as some young officer of Napoleon’s staff
might have felt on hearing the details of the latest
plan of campaign, “Liz, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say
it again. When it comes to the smooth stuff, old girl,
you’re the oyster’s eye-tooth!”
And, reaching out an arm from the recesses of the
yew, he took Miss Peavey’s hand in his and gave it a
tender squeeze. A dreamy look came into the
poetess’s fine eyes, and she giggled a little. Dumb-
bell though he was, she loved this man.
 §2

“Mr. Baxter!”
“Yes, Miss Halliday?”
The Brains of Blandings looked abstractedly up
from his desk. It was only some half-hour since
luncheon had finished, but already he was in the
library surrounded by large books like a sea-beast
among rocks. Most of his time was spent in the library
when the castle was full of guests, for his lofty mind
was ill-attuned to the frivolous babblings of Society
butterflies.
“I wonder if you could spare me this afternoon?”
said Eve.
Baxter directed the glare of his spectacles upon her
inquisitorially.
“The whole afternoon?”
“If you don’t mind. You see, I had a letter by the
second post from a great friend of mine, saying that
she will be in Market Blandings this afternoon and
asking me to meet her there. I must see her, Mr.
Baxter, please. You’ve no notion how important it is.”
Eve’s manner was excited, and her eyes as they
met Baxter’s sparkled in a fashion that might have
disturbed a man made of less stern stuff. If it had
been the Hon. Freddie Threepwood, for instance, who
had been gazing into their blue depths, that impulsive
youth would have tied himself into knots and yapped
like a dog. Baxter, the superman, felt no urge towards
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