“I know I brought it with me,” repeated Ben. “This chil’ loves cheese too well to let himself forget anything as important as that. Didn’t you find it out there?”
Mrs. Seymour shook her head without answering.
“Probably it dropped behind the bench, or perhaps it is in the buckboard,” Mr. Seymour suggested. He knew that his wife must be thinking of Fred Bailey’s warning against leaving any food outside the door. This was the first time that the advice had been overlooked.
Followed by Ann, he went out to look for the missing cheese. There might be remnants left to indicate what had happened to it. But there was not a trace to be found anywhere. He and Ann looked at each other incredulously. As they stood there, not yet quite ready to put their questions into words, they saw Mr. Bailey running toward them from the back field, holding something in his outstretched hand. He was waving frantically to them in most unusual excitement. As he came closer Ann could see that what he carried was a package wrapped in torn paper.
Ben, standing in the kitchen doorway, recognized this bundle and hailed Mr. Bailey. “Hey!” he called. “Where did you find our cheese?”
“So it be yours,” Fred gasped as he stopped before them, very short of breath. “I thought it would be, but I wanted to make sure of it.”
Ann saw that the man was pale beneath his tan and the laughter had fled from his blue eyes. Whatever he might have to say now could have no joke hidden behind it.
“I left that cheese out on the bench and forgot it,” Ben explained.
“I warned you folks not to leave food lyin’ around outdoors; I told you that you mustn’t leave anything that would tempt spirits to come from the sea and pester us,” said Mr. Bailey. “I don’t know as we shall ever be free from them again,” he added despairingly.
“I never heard that spirits were especially fond of cheese,” commented Mr. Seymour. “Where did you find it, Fred?” he asked quietly.