The sheer folly of it took my breath away.
"Surely," I said, "if he hadn't the ghost of a chance, it wasn't necessary?"
"Well—it was necessary, you see. He's so awfully clever. He was very nearly off once or twice. Only we just managed to get in in time."
"Who got in in time?"
"Oh, it wasn't only me, Furny, it was all of us. We were all out trying to stop him—Charlie and Reggie and Uncle Billy—he pulled all the ropes—we couldn't do much."
"But what—what did General Thesiger do?"
"He didn't 'do' anything. He hadn't got to. He just said things. Told them about Jimmy."
I don't know whether my face expressed horror or admiration. It must have been a sort of horror, for she began to excuse herself.
"Why not? Why should poor little Jimmy go?"
"Because he wants to. You'd no business to stop him when he wanted to go."