The Doctor drove home in surly mood.
It was not till the evening that his wife arrived at the root of the trouble.
"You remember Miss Caryll's maid?" he said.
"Ruth Boam?" cried Mrs. Trupp. "That charming girl who used to bring us over strawberries from the Dower-house at Aldwoldston."
Mr. Trupp stirred his coffee.
"She's on the Third Floor at the Hohenzollern."
Mrs. Trupp put down her work.
"Temporarily," continued the other, "But she oughtn't to be there at all, a good girl like that. I told Madame as much."
"I should think you did!" cried Mrs. Trupp, flashing out like a sword from a scabbard. "It's a crime!"
"Madame's not a criminal," replied her husband quietly. "She's kind. But she's one of the people who carries her kindness altogether too far."