He paused. A little smile hovered on his

lips. His eyes were dreamy. Poirot said

gently:

no

"And she was pretty, yes ?"

"She was just the loveliest thing you

ever saw. Her hair was like gold — it went

up each side like wings — and she had a

gay kind of way of tripping along. I — I —

well, I fell for her right away, sir. I'm not

pretending anything else."

Poirot nodded. The young man went on:

"She said as how her lady would be

coming down again in a fortnight and we

fixed up to meet again then." He paused.

"But she never came. I waited for her

at the spot she'd said, but not a sign of her,

and at last I made bold to go up to the

house and ask for her. The Russian lady

was staying there all right and her maid

too, they said. Sent for her, they did,

but when she came, why, it wasn't Nita

at all! Just a dark catty-looking girl—

a bold lot if there ever was one. Marie,

they called her. 'You want to see me?'

she says, simpering all over. She must have

seen I was took aback. I said was she the

Russian lady's-maid and something about

her not being the one I'd seen before, and

then she laughed and said that the last

maid had been sent away sudden. 'Sent

away?' I said. 'What for?' She sort of

_ in

shrugged her shoulders and stretched out

her hands. 'How should I know?' she

said.(! was not there.'

"Well, sir, it took me aback. At the

moment I couldn't think of anything to

say. But afterwards I plucked up courage

and I got to see this Marie again and asked

her to get me Nita's address. I didn't let

on to her that I didn't even know Nita's

last name. I promised her a present if she

did what I asked—she was the kind as

wouldn't do anything for you for nothing.

Well, she got it all right for me—an

address in North London, it was, and

I wrote to Nita there—but the letter

came back after a bit — sent back through

the post office with no longer at this address

scrawled on it."

Ted Williamson stopped. His eyes,

those deep blue steady eyes, looked across

atPoirot. He said:

"You see how it is, sir ? It's not a case

for the police. But I want to find her. And

I don't know how to set about it. If—

if you could find her for me." His colour

deepened. "I've — I've a bit put by. I

could manage five pounds — or even ten."

Poirot said gently:

112

SLW

"We need not discuss the financial side

for the moment. First reflect on this point

—this girl, this Nita—she knew your

name and where you worked ?"

"Oh yes, sir."

"She could have communicated with you

if she had wanted to ?"