Miss Cackle's off to visit her sickly auntie Gertrude (maybe not Gertrude, but I think that was her name) and for some reason, Mr. Hallow (who looks really, really a lot older than he did before) is there to help see her off. He sticks his nose in where it doesn't belong and suggests finding someone to be a temporary replacement, ""a witch between jobs to fill in"". Because they're very polite, Cackle and HB agree.
Ruby has invented a machine that somehow allows you to travel from one place to the other without having to walk there - sort of the way HB disappears and reappears. This involves wearing a cooky headband and having Ruby push all sorts of buttons on a gizmo. It doesn't work properly, and it makes Mildred disappear and reappear all around the room really, really fast.
Ethel catches up with her father and has a pow wow with him in the hallway. He explains that he was having trouble finding someone, but then he thought of the perfect person, tracked her down by phone, and she was
