"No. I was some distance away, and when she saw me she ran off."
"Ran off! That old woman?"
"Oh, Edwin, she is very quick on her legs, and got out of the way in a most surprising manner. Afterwards I met Mrs. Mellin down in the village, and she told me that Mrs. Vence was looking for Neddy."
"What does she want with him?" asked Craver, suspiciously. "I don't know. Perhaps she wants to tell him to hold his tongue, and is afraid lest we should question him."
"I haven't questioned him yet, Claudia; but now that I know Mrs. Vence is on the warpath I shall ask him immediately I return to the barn. It is just as well for us to learn what he knows before Mrs. Vence gets hold of him. All the same, I don't see why she should tell him to hold his tongue."
"We don't know if she intends to do so, Edwin. It is only a guess on my part, dear. Is Neddy still with you?"
"Yes. He has been with me for the last two hours helping with the repairs. I suppose his mother knows where he is."
"Yes. She said that Mrs. Vence sent a message from Maranatha asking that Neddy should come to see her, and Mrs. Mellin replied that he was at the barn on the cliffs with you. He told his mother that he was going to try and see the aeroplane. Then, I suppose, Mrs. Vence came out to look for him."
"She hasn't been near the barn, at any rate. Claudia, I am very suspicious of that old woman. It seems to me that she wants to make Neddy hold his tongue."
"Why should she?"