they must bear to have the laugh once more turned against them; but
should it turn out the truth! The buzz which greeted this bare
supposition showed how favorably his decision was regarded, and the
absent men were ordered to be summoned without delay. Everything was
got ready as quickly as possible, and in a little over an hour two
boats started, fully equipped and manned, to lie in ambush near the
coast midway between Looe and Polperro.

While Fate, in the shape of Reuben May, had been hastening events
toward a disastrous climax, the course of circumstances in Polperro had
not gone altogether smoothly. To Eve's vexation, because of the
impossibility of speaking of her late encounter with Reuben May, she
found on her return home that during her absence Mrs. Tucker had
arrived, with the rare and unappreciated announcement that she had come
to stop and have her tea with them. The example set by Mrs. Tucker was
followed by an invitation to two or three other elderly friends, so
that between her hospitality and her excitement Joan had no opportunity
of noticing any undue change in Eve's manner or appearance. Two or
three remarks were made on her pale face and abstracted air, but this
more by the way of teasing than anything else; while Joan, remembering
the suppressed anxiety she was most probably trying to subdue,
endeavored to come to her aid and assist in turning away this
over-scrutiny of her tell-tale appearance.

The opportunity thus afforded by silence gave time for reflection, and
Eve, who had never been quite straightforward or very explicit about
herself and Reuben May, now began to hesitate. Perhaps, after all, it
would be better to say nothing, for Joan was certain to ask questions
which, without betraying the annoyance she had undergone, Eve hardly
saw her way to answering. Again, it was not impossible but that