Missing in Action

It occurs to me (too late) that there are some missing characters from Mavis's Shoe in addition to Mavis. Hens. Surely back courts would have been full of them as part of the Dig for Victory drive? And Carbeth would have been over-run and Lenny, my main character, would have had a field day in the fields with them. I'm reminded of this by the presence of four hens in my own back court who, as a staunch advocate of free range eggs, I must tolerate as they scratch my little bit of grass to pieces and gobble all my grubs. I do not begrudge them the grubs, on the contrary, they are welcome to them and I will shortly be laying a trail of small beasties to entice them into my kitchen. Not to turn them into chickens for the oven, no, no, but to introduce them to my pet slugs which I'm told is a great delicacy if you're a hen. They're very sneaky and shy these slugs and tend only to come out at night, but then to crawl over every surface (ceiling included) and to avoid the compost bin under the sink. (There were twenty five of the little darlings when I first discovered them through half shut eyes at 3am a few years ago on my way for a glass of water.) They have recently discovered the shower where they are even bolder and are often there in the mornings. I've issued several eviction orders and now need to call for some hen-chmen.