"I was so anxious," Mrs. Sharp at length managed to say, still panting—whether with exhaustion or emotion, Nora could not tell—between her sentences, "I simply couldn't stay indoors—another minute. I went out to see if I—could catch a sight of Sid. And I walked on, and on. And then I saw the rig what's—outside. And it gave me such a turn! I thought it was the inspector. I just had to come—I was that nervous——!"
"But why? Is anything the matter?" asked Nora, completely puzzled.
"You're not going to tell me you don't know about it? When Sid and Frank haven't been talking about anything else since Frank found it?"
"Found it? Found what?"
"The weed," said Mrs. Sharp simply.
"You've got it then," said Marsh, with a slight gesture of his head toward the table where Nora's flowers made a bright spot of color.
"It's worse here, at Taylor's. But we've got it, too."
"What does she mean?" Nora addressed herself to Eddie, abandoning all hope of getting anything out of her friend.
"We can't make out who reported us. It isn't as if we had any enemies," went on Mrs. Sharp gloomily, as if Nora wasn't present, or at least hadn't spoken. "It isn't as if we had any enemies," she repeated. "Goodness knows we've never done anything to anybody."
"Oh, there's always someone to report you. After all, it's not to be wondered at. No one's going to run the risk of letting it get on his own land."