"Oh, I thought—"
Then silence fell.
Alice, meanwhile, was busy with a swift calculation. Five days, in these troubled times, for a letter to go from Johannesburg to Cape Town; five days since Ethel could have left Cape Town. And her one letter to Ethel since Weldon's arrival had been posted just three days before.
"How did you know Mr. Weldon was here?" she asked sharply.
Ethel's back was still turned towards her. Nevertheless, she could see the scarlet tide mounting to the ears and to the roots of the vivid gold hair.
"Why, your letter, Alice," Ethel answered composedly.
Alice's laugh was sharp and edged with malice.
"Yes, dear. My letter, telling you of his being here, will be delivered at your house to-morrow morning."
"Oh, then I must have mixed things up," Ethel replied, as she turned to face her cousin. "Probably Captain Frazer told me."
"Captain Frazer?"