"Oh! I know," said Mr. Wade. "And I have to when I'm in town. I mean, I have to be round at the jolly old Foreign Office by eleven o'clock. You mustn't think I'm always a slacker, Lady Coote. I say, what awfully jolly flowers you've got down in that lower border. I can't remember the names of them, but we've got some at home--those mauve thingummybobs. My sister's tremendously keen on gardening." Lady Coote was immediately diverted. Her wrongs rankled within her. "What kind of gardeners do you have?" "Oh! just one. Rather an old fool, I believe. Doesn't know much, but he does what he's told. And that's a great thing, isn't it?" Lady Coote agreed that it was with a depth of feeling in her voice that would have been invaluable to her as an emotional actress. They began to discourse on the iniquities of gardeners. Meanwhile the expedition was doing well. The principal emporium of Market Basing had been invaded and the sudden demand for alarum clocks was considerably puzzling the proprietor. "I wish we'd got Bundle here," murmured Bill. "You know her, don't you, Jimmy? Oh, you'd like her. She's a splendid girl--a real good sport--and mark you, she's got brains too. You know her, Ronny?" Ronny shook his head. "Don't know Bundle? Where have you been vegetating? She's simply it." "Be a bit more subtle, Bill," said Socks. "Stop blethering about your lady friends and get on with the business." Mr. Murgatroyd, owner of Murgatroyd's Stores, burst into eloquence. "If you'll allow me to advise you, Miss, I should say--_not_ the 7/11 one. It's a good clock--I'm not running it down, mark you, but I should strongly advise this kind at 10/6. Well worth the extra money. Reliability, you understand. I shouldn't like you to say afterwards--" It was evident to everybody that Mr. Murgatroyd must be turned off like a tap. "We don't want a reliable clock," said Nancy. "It's got to go for one day, that's all," said Helen. "We don't want a subtle one," said Socks. "We want one with a good loud ring." "We want--" began Bill, but was unable to finish, because Jimmy, who was of a mechanical turn of mind, had at last grasped the mechanism. For the next five minutes the shop was hideous with the loud raucous ringing of many alarum clocks. In the end six excellent starters were selected. "And I'll tell you what," said Ronny handsomely, "I'll get one for Pongo. It was his idea, and it's a shame that he should be out of it. He shall be represented among those present." "That's right," said Bill. "And I'll take an extra one for Lady Coote. The more the merrier. And she's doing some of the spade work. Probably gassing away to old Gerry now." Indeed at this precise moment Lady Coote was detailing a long story about MacDonald and a prize peach and enjoying herself very much.