"Couldn' get back nohow last night, sir. 'Twould a bin as much as our lives were worth. Hope ye didn' starve," said the spokesman with another genial grin.
"No, we didn't expect you. We dug potatoes and cooked them. Here you are, and thanks for coming as soon as you could," and, from their smiling faces, their reward without doubt covered not only that which they had actually done but that also which they had unwittingly helped to do.
The boat shoved off and made for its own anchorage, and Graeme led the girls up the toilsome path to the Coupée.
It was after nine when they reached the cottage, and the first thing they saw was Johnnie Vautrin sitting in the hedge opposite, with Marielihou licking her lips alongside.
"I just seen seven crows," cried Johnnie gleefully.
"Little rascal! You dream crows," said Graeme, whose desires at the moment ran to something more palatable and satisfying.
"And what do seven crows mean, Johnnie?" asked Margaret.
"Seven crows means everything's oll right!"
"Clever boy! You see just what you want to see," said Graeme, and then Mrs. Carré appeared at the door of the cottage.
"Ah then, here you are!" she said, with a large welcoming smile. "And the dinner I haf been keeping for you for an hour an' more."