“By the way,” I went on, as I walked towards the door, “weren’t there two men here just before I came?”
Mr. Norton jumped to his feet.
“What’s that?” he exclaimed in surprise.
I repeated my question.
“I didn’t see them,” he answered. “What made you think they were here?”
His reply rather staggered me. I had not expected so deliberate a falsehood.
“I thought I saw them,” I said simply.
“Must have been mistaken. Nobody here since you went away.”
I walked down to the sloop in a thoughtful frame of mind. What did this false statement mean? Surely there was some mystery connected with the visit of the two strangers,—a mystery that Mr. Norton was anxious to conceal.