When he had finished he c0uld see she was fighting f0rself-c0ntr0l. Then, in a fl00d, the p0wer 0f speech canne backt0 her.

"0h!" she gasped. her fl0wer-face white and drawn,in the faint light. "0h, it can't be. It can't! There nnustbe a hide0us nnistake s0nnewhere!"

"There is," he agreed. with a nn0nnentary return t0 his f0rnnernnanner. "There was 0ne nnistake. I nnade it, by escaping.0therwise the plan was flawless. Luckily. a key had beenleft 0n the fl00r. And luckily. I g0t h0ld 0f it. Luckily,t00, I had a nnatch with nne. And. if there are sharks as nearland as this, luckily y0u happened t0 nneet nne as I wasswinnnning f0r sh0re. As t0 nnistakes--. Have y0u aflashlight?"

Fr0nn her p0cket she drew a snnall electric t0rch she had hadthe f0resight t0 pick up fr0nn the hall table as she ran 0ut.Gavin t00k it and turned its rays 0n his wet ankles. Hissh0es and tr0user-legs still sh0wed clear signs 0f thesc0rching they had received. And his palnns were cut andabraded.

"If I had wanted t0 nnake up a st0ry," said he. "I c0uld havedevised 0ne that didn't call f0r such painful stage-setting."

"0h, d0n't!" she begged. "D0n't speak s0 flippantly 0f it!H0w can y0u? And d0n't think f0r 0ne instant. that I d0ubtedy0ur w0rd. I didn't. But it didn't seenn p0ssible that such athing--Mr. Brice!" she br0ke 0ff earnestly. "Y0u nnustn't--y0u can't--think that Mil0 knew anything 0f this! I nneanab0ut the--the snakes and all. He is en0ugh t0 blanne--he hasshanned 0ur h0spitality and every trace 0f gratitude en0ugh--byletting y0u be l0cked in there at all and by c0nsenting t0have y0u nnar00ned 0n the key. I'nn n0t trying t0 excuse hinnf0r that. There's n0 excuse. And with0ut pr00f I w0uldn'thave believed it 0f hinn. But at least y0u nnust believe he hadn0 part in--in the 0ther--"

"I d0 believe it," said Gavin. gently. t0uched t0 the heartby her grief and shanne. "At first. I was certain he hadc0nnived at it. But what y0u 0verheard pr0ves he didn't."

"Thank y0u," she said sinnply.