In front of me a round white blob appeared to float in space.
It was some few seconds before I realised that it was a human face I was looking at - a face suspended in the air about a foot or two away from me.
As my faculties returned, my vision became more precise.
The face still had its goblin suggestion - it was round with a bulging brow, combed back hair and small rather beady, black eyes.
But it was definitely attached to a body - a small skinny body.
It was regarding me very earnestly.
"Hullo," it said.
"Hullo," I replied, blinking.
"I'm Josephine."
I had already deduced that.
Sophia's sister, Josephine, was, I judged, about eleven or twelve years of age.
She was a fantastically ugly child with a very distinct likeness to her grandfather.
It seemed to me possible that she also had his brains.
"You're Sophia's young man," said Josephine.
I acknowledged the correctness of this remark.
"But you came down here with Chief Inspector Taverner.
Why did you come with Chief Inspector Taverner?"
"He's a friend of mine."
"Is he?
I don't like him.
I shan't tell him things."
"What sort of things?"
"The things that I know.
I know a lot of things.
I like knowing things."
She sat down on the arm of the chair and continued her searching scrutiny of my face.
I began to feel quite uncomfortable.
"Grandfather's been murdered.
Did you know?"
"Yes," I said. "I knew."
"He was poisoned.
With es-er-ine." She pronounced the word very carefully. "It's interesting, isn't it?"
"I suppose it is."
"Eustace and I are very interested.
We like detective stories.
I've always wanted to be a detective.
I'm being one now.
I'm collecting clues."
She was, I felt, rather a ghoulish child.
She returned to the charge.
"The man who came with Chief Inspector Taverner is a detective too, isn't he?
In books it says you can always know plain clothes detectives by their boots.
But this detective was wearing suede shoes."
"The old order changeth," I said.
Josephine interpreted this remark according to her own ideas.
"Yes," she said, "there will be a lot of changes here now, I expect.
We shall go and live in a house in London on the embankment.
Mother has wanted to for a long time.
She'll be very pleased.
I don't expect father will mind if his books go, too.