Hearing the tooting of the horn of his car he has left standing on the road Bertie finds Seabury Chuffnell in it, telling him that he is invited for lunch at the Hall. On the way Seabury tries to get five shillings out of Bertie for what he calls protection money. At the house Chuffy tells Bertie that his aunt Myrtle and Sir Roderick Glossop are engaged to be married, and that Sir Roderick is bringing an American over who is interested in turning the estate into a country club to be run by him. The American turns out to be J. Washburn Stoker, who arrives in the company of his daughter Pauline and his younger son Dwight.