"Not any. But I suppose she wasn't comfortable when she stayed here last month. She said one or two little things at the time--the hot water, you know, and the gas giving such a poor light, and then the servants. But I never knew she was thinking of this." "I must say, I think she might have given you a reason, or asked you to go and see her at the office," said Tony, her allegiance to Miss Vivian shaken at the sight of the little Superintendent in tears. Every one liked Mrs. Bullivant at the Hostel, and when Tony told the others that she was to be dismissed there was a general outcry. "But why? What a shame!" "She always works so hard, and she's so nice to every one. It's too bad of Miss Vivian." "It does seem very unlike her to be so inconsiderate!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed. "I can't believe there isn't some satisfactory explanation. It's too unlike Miss Vivian." Miss Delmege was caustically reminded by Miss Marsh that no explanation could really be satisfactory from the point of view of Mrs. Bullivant. "Couldn't we all send round a petition, and sign it? Do let's. We can put it on her table for when she gets back tomorrow or next day." Miss Plumtree's suggestion was acclaimed, and she and Miss Marsh spent most of the morning in composing a petition that should combine sufficiently official wording with appealing arguments in Mrs. Bullivant's favour. "Shall we wait till Gracie gets back before fastening it up, so as to make her sign it too?" "Why?" said Miss Delmege sharply. "Several of the others are away, too, for the week-end, and we can't wait for every one to get back." "Well," provokingly said Miss Marsh, "as she's Miss Vivian's own secretary, one naturally looks upon her as being important. Besides, look at the way they've had her out to stay; she's a sort of special person, isn't she?" Every one knew that Miss Marsh was "getting a rise out of Delmege," always a favourite form of amusement, and there was a general giggle when Miss Delmege said in a very aloof manner: "If you ask me, I think Miss Vivian thinks it just as strange as any one else that Gracie should be asked out there now, with Sir Piers still so ill. But Lady Vivian is quite well known to be a most eccentric person." "I shouldn't be a bit surprised if Miss Vivian's Staff Officer cousin had got her asked. I think he admires Gracie." "Go on, Marshie! Why, he's never seen anything of her, has he?--except, perhaps, at the Canteen." "There was that night, you know," Miss Marsh reminded them. "What night?" "Why, when there was the air-raid, and he brought her back here afterwards. Don't you remember?" "Well!" Miss Delmege exclaimed, "I must say that I should have thought--" "I'm sure I've read somewhere that those four words '_I should have thought_' are responsible for more quarrels than any others in the language." Miss Delmege disregarded Tony and her literary allusions.