2 The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag: A Flavia De Luce Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

scrape a sample of blue zafre from a medieval stained-glass window. Zafre was an impure basic arsenate of cobalt, prepared by roasting, which the craftsmen of the Middle Ages had used for painting on glass, and I was simply dying to analyze the stuff in my laboratory to determine how successful its makers had been in the essential step of freeing it of iron.
    Cynthia had seized me, upended me, and spanked me on the spot, making what I thought to be unfair use of a nearby copy of Hymns Ancient and Modern (Standard Edition).
    “What you have done, Flavia, is not worthy of congratulation,” Father said when I reported this outrage to him. “You have ruined a perfectly good Thiers-Issard hollow-ground blade.”
    I have to admit, though, that Cynthia was a great organizer, but then, so were the men with whips who got the pyramids built. Certainly, if anyone could manage to paper Bishop’s Lacey from end to end in three days with handbills, it was Cynthia Richardson.
    “Hold on!” the vicar exclaimed. “I’ve just had the most splendid idea! Tell me what you think. Why not present two shows rather than one? I don’t claim to be an expert in the art of the puppet theater, by any means—knowing what is possible and what is not, and so forth—but why not put on a show Saturday afternoon for the children, and another Saturday evening, when more of the grownups would be free to attend?”
    Rupert did not reply at once, but stood rubbing his chin. Even I could see instantly that two performances would double the take at the box office.
    “Well …” he said at last. “I suppose. It would have to be the same show both times, though …”
    “Splendid!” said the vicar. “What’s it to be, then … the program, that is?”
    “Open with a short musical piece,” Rupert said. “It’s a new one I’ve been working up. No one’s seen it yet, so this would be a good chance to try it out. Then Jack and the Beanstalk. They always clamor for Jack and the Beanstalk, young and old alike. Classic fare. Very popular.”
    “Smashing!” the vicar said. He pulled a folded sheet of paper and the nub of a pencil from an inner pocket and scribbled a few notes.
    “How’s this?” he asked, with a final flourish, then, with a pleased look on his face, read aloud what he had written:
    “Direct from London!
    “I hope you’ll forgive the small fib and the exclamation point,” he whispered to Nialla.
    “Porson’s Puppets
    “(Operated by the acclaimed Rupert Porson. As seen on the BBC Television)
    “Program“I. A Musical Interlude
“II. Jack and the Beanstalk(The former being presented for the first time on any stage; the latter declared to be universally popular with old and young alike.)
Saturday, July 22nd, 1950, at St. Tancred’s Parish Hall, Bishop’s Lacey.
Performances at 2:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. sharp!
    “… Otherwise they’ll just dawdle in,” he added. “I’ll have Cynthia dash off a sketch of a little jointed figure with strings to put at the top. She’s an exceedingly talented artist, you know—not that she’s had as many opportunities as she’d like to express herself—oh, dear, I fear I’m rambling. I’d best away to my telephonic duties.”
    And with that he was gone.
    “Peculiar old duck,” Rupert remarked.
    “He’s all right,” I told him. “He leads rather a sad life.”
    “Ah,” Rupert said, “I know what you mean. Funerals, and all that.”
    “Yes,” I said. “Funerals and all that.”
    But I was thinking more of Cynthia.
    “Which way to the mains?” Rupert asked suddenly.
    For a moment I was dumbfounded. I must have looked particularly unintelligent.
    “The mains,” he repeated. “The current. The electrical controls. But then I don’t suppose you’d know where they are, would you?”
    As it happened, I did. Only weeks before I had been press-ganged into standing backstage with Mrs. Witty, helping to throw the massive levers of the antique lighting control panel, as her