Sixteen
Hercule Poirot looked with interest at Mrs. Goodbody’s face. It was indeed perfect as a model fora witch. The fact that it almost undoubtedly¹ went with extreme amiability² of character did notdispel the illusion. She talked with relish³ and pleasure.
“Yes, I was up there right enough, I was. I always does the witches round here. Vicar hecomplimented me last year and he said as I’d done such a good job in the pageant⁴ as he’d give mea new steeple hat. A witch’s hat wears out just like anything else does. Yes, I was right up therethat day. I does the rhymes, you know. I mean the rhymes for the girls, using their own Christianname. One for Beatrice, one for Ann and all the rest of it. And I gives them to whoever is doingthe spirit voice and they recite it out to the girl in the mirror, and the boys, Master Nicholas andyoung Desmond, they send the phoney photographs floating down. Make me die of laughing,some of it does. See those boys sticking hair all over their faces and photographing each other.
And what they dress up in! I saw Master Desmond the other day, and what he was wearing you’dhardly believe. Rose-coloured coat and fawn⁵ breeches. Beat the girls hollow, they do. All the girlscan think of is to push their skirts higher and higher, and that’s not much good to them becausethey’ve got to put on more underneath⁶. I mean what with the things they call body stockings andtights, which used to be for chorus girls in my day and none other—they spend all their money onthat. But the boys—my word, they look like kingfishers and peacocks or birds of paradise. Well, Ilike to see a bit of colour and I always think it must have been fun in those old historical days asyou see on the pictures. You know, everybody with lace and curls and cavalier hats and all the restof it. Gave the girls something to look at, they did. And doublet and hose. All the girls could thinkof in historical times, as far as I can see, was to put great balloon skirts on, crinolines they calledthem later, and great

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