“Ring, ring!” rang the phone.

“What, what, what is that ringing?” queried Walinda Fervent. “Whence it cometh? Wherefore art its clangs commence? What do those questions even mean?” Walinda fervent tore crazily at her hairpiece, renting it hither and thither. “Whom? Whom? Whom is making this infernal racket rocket infernally throughout my abode? Whom?”

Just then, the answering machine picked up: “You have reached the Answering Machine of Walinda Fervent. Please leave a message after the tone.”

Tone!

“Miss Fervent? It was the telephone ringing. This is your long-lost brother, by the way.”

And so ends another Twenty Second Mystery. Join us next time for the Elegant Electronic Mail Mystery!