In the afternoon, the group gets together for a divination; the pendulum points off to the north-east, which seems to indicate one Colonel St John Corbet Gore, about seventy, retired Lieutenant of His Majesty’s Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms; he has a house some miles outside Newmarket. Bessie calls on Sir Archibald (just leaving on a survey) to ask him to call Sir St John and vouch for the group; he agrees.

They take a train to Newmarket, then call the house; Sir St John is brisk, but says that he’ll send the trap, which turns out to be a two-horse closed carriage.

When they get to the house, Sir St John (walking with a stick) welcomes them, and Gertrude explains the situation; it becomes clear that, while he may not be taking them terribly seriously, they’re an interesting distraction in a boring retirement (filled with hunting, shooting and fishing, but still). He’s happy to put them up for the night, and “if you’re wrong, I’ve lost nothing more than a few hours outside on a rainy night”.