"Well," she urged, "somebody must stop Nevis from driving over to Forrester's."
"It would be very desirable," Thorne admitted dryly. "The most annoying thing is that it could have been managed with very little trouble."
"How?" Alison asked with assumed indifference.
Thorne, suspecting nothing, fell into the trap.
"Nevis's hired buggy is a rather rickety affair. It wouldn't astonish anybody if, when he wished to start, there was a bolt short."
A look of satisfaction flashed into Alison's eyes.
"Then he will certainly have to put up with any trouble the absence of that bolt is capable of causing. As there doesn't seem to be any other way, I'll pull it out myself. Your scruples won't compel you to forbid me?"
The man expostulated, but she was quietly determined.
"If you won't tell me what to do, I'll get Dave," she laughed. "I've no doubt he'd be willing to help me."
Thorne thought it highly undesirable that they should take a third person into their confidence, and he reluctantly yielded.