Smiles and handshakes and words of praise surrounded him on the platform.

Miss Winwood pressed his hand and said, "Well done." The Princess regarded him with flushed cheeks and starry eyes.

It was only when silence fell on the opening words of the Dean of Halifax that he searched the rows in front for Barney Bill and Jane.

They were still there.

Impulsively he scribbled a few lines on a scrap of paper torn from his rough notes: "I must see you.