I was stirring my coffee and put it to my lips as they went out; and the woman turned and saw me. This time instead of locking the door upon us, they left it ajar.
It was becoming as plain as print.
I set down the cup, untasted, of course, and talked in a fairly loud tone about the kindness of the two and how good the coffee tasted; and Volna taking her cue from me agreed.
Then we all but emptied the two cups into a jug and hid it away, and went on talking unconcernedly. Presently I stole to the door and listened. The two were in the upper part of the house.
Volna, I could see now, was beginning to grow nervous.
“It’s all right. We can act much better than they, and there isn’t a thing to fear.”
Her brow wrinkled. “I think Peggy doesn’t want to be left alone, Bob,” she said.
“You’ll have to make shift with that wooden settle; but you may go to sleep without a thought.”
“What do you think they mean to do?”
“They’ve half done what they meant and we shall soon know the rest. The coffee is drugged of course, and they think we’ve drunk it. Now, lie down and just go off to sleep. I’ve dried my last three cigars and am going to smoke one of them.”