As Rendel went out a few minutes later he was dimly conscious of meeting an agitated little figure which hurried past him into the room. Miss Judd was a lady who contrived to reduce as many of her fellow-creatures to a state of mild exasperation during the day as any female enthusiast in London, by her constant haste to overtake her manifold duties towards the human race. Those duties were still further complicated by the fact that she had a special gift for forgetting more things in one afternoon than most people are capable of remembering in a week. "My dear Jane, how do you do?" said Lady Gore. "We have not seen you for an age." "No, Cousin Elinor, no," said Miss Judd, who always spoke in little gasps as if she had run all the way from her last stopping-place. "I have been so frightfully busy. Oh, thank you, William, thank you; but do you know, that tea looks dreadfully strong. In fact, I think I had really better not have any. I wonder if I might have some hot water instead? Thank you so much. Thank you, dear Rachel--simply water, nothing else." "That doesn't sound a very reviving beverage," said Lady Gore. "Oh, but it is, I assure you," said Miss Judd. "It is wonderful. And, you see, I had tea for luncheon, and I don't like to have it too often." "Tea for luncheon?" said Sir William. "Yes, at an Aerated Bread place," she replied, "near Victoria. I have been leaving the canvassing papers for the School Board election, and I had not time to go home." "What it is to be such a pillar of the country!" said Lady Gore laughing. "You may laugh, Cousin Elinor," Miss Judd said, drinking her hot water in quick, hurried sips, "but I assure you it is very hard work. You see, whatever the question is that I am canvassing for, I always feel bound to explain it to the voters at every place I go to, for fear they should vote the wrong way: and sometimes that is very hard work. At the last General Election, for instance, I lunched off buns and tea for a fortnight." "Good Lord!" said Sir William to Pateley as they stood a little apart. "Imagine public opinion being expounded by people who lunch off buns!" "And the awful thing, do you know," said Pateley laughing, "is that I believe those people do make a difference." "It is horrible to reflect upon," said Sir William. "By the way," said Pateley, with a laugh, "your side is going in for the sex too, I see. Is it true that you are going to have a Women's Peace Crusade?" "Yes," said Sir William with an expression of disgust, "I believe that it is so. _My_ womenkind are not going to have anything to do with it, I am thankful to say." "Oh, yes, I saw about that Crusade," said Wentworth, joining them, "in the _Torch_." "Don't believe too firmly what the _Torch_ says--or indeed any newspaper--ha, ha!" said Pateley. "I should be glad not to believe all that I see in the _Arbiter_, this morning," Sir William said. "Upon my word, Pateley, that paper of yours is becoming incendiary."