that I went on to the stable yard, and if you'll believe me, the two
chaps there had never turned up at all--at half-past eight, mind
you!--and there was Fennessy doing up the horses. He said he believed
that there'd been a wake down at Enniscar last night. I thought it was
rather decent of him doing their work for them."

"You'll sack 'em, I suppose?" remarked Mr. Taylour, with martial
severity.

"Oh well, I don't know," said Mr. Alexander evasively, "I'll see.
Anyhow, don't say anything to my mother about it; a drunken man is like
a red rag to a bull to her."

Taking this peculiarity of Mrs. Alexander into consideration, it was
perhaps as well that she left Craffroe a few days afterwards to stay
with her brother. The evening before she left both the Fairy Pig and the
Ghost Woman were seen again on the avenue, this time by the coachman,
who came into the kitchen considerably the worse for liquor and
announced the fact, and that night the household duties were performed
by the maids in pairs, and even, when possible, in trios.

As Mrs. Alexander said at dinner to Sir George, on the evening of her
arrival, she was thankful to have abandoned the office of Ghostly
Comforter to her domestics. Only for Barnet she couldn't have left poor
Freddy to the mercy of that pack of fools; in fact, even with Barnet to
look after them, it was impossible to tell what imbecility they were not
capable of.

"Well, if you like," said Sir George, "I might run you over there on the
motor car some day to see how they're all getting on. If Freddy is going