“You can depend upon it,” returned Hamish profoundly, “he has his reasons.”
Aunt Cal opened the door. “Dinner’s ready,” she said.
Hattie May and Hamish got up. “Keep your eye on the place as much as you can,” Hamish said in a whisper. “I’ll be round as soon as it gets dark.”
“You mean you’re going to watch the house all night?” Eve asked.
“Sure. But don’t say anything to your aunt yet. Not until tomorrow anyway. Promise?”
“We-ll, all right,” Eve agreed reluctantly. “We promise.”
XXII
The Escape
I had looked forward to a swim that afternoon but Hamish’s request that we keep an eye on the house next door forced us reluctantly to abandon the plan. Hamish might be a bit theatrical at times but there was no denying the fact that the Captain had a strange visitor and that, for whatever reason, he had appeared most unwilling to make us acquainted with the gentleman. So there did seem some sense in the idea that we keep our eyes peeled for what went on in our neighbor’s domain.
But as the long afternoon wore away, it seemed evident that nothing at all was going on. The smoke had long since died away from the chimney and, though the back door still remained fast closed, there was no sign of activity within.