“Yes,” she said—“yes! I would not wake each morning in dread of hearing of fresh robberies.”
“Well, you might hear of them, all the same—which would be a sort of comfort to you, because you would know that your suspicions had been wrong. And it would not surprise me if they were all wrong—surely a man who is already in dread of the police would not deliberately do new things that would bring them on his track! It isn’t common sense!”
“It would be a comfort to think that,” she said. “I have tried to think it. But he is so foolhardy—so difficult to understand! My dear, the more I think of your plan, the more hopeful I feel. Surely on that lonely island he would be safer than he is here!”
“Why, of course he would. And every one in the house would be safer too. Do make up your mind to take him over, Mrs. McNab. Let us go to-night!”
“To-night!” she uttered. “But it is already very late. I—I have not had time to think—to plan.”
“But there really isn’t much to plan. There is moonlight enough to make everything easy: we have only to get the things down to the shore as soon as everyone is in bed. Mr. Hull could change into his own clothes in one of the bathing-boxes when we are ready to start. The launch is all in order; the children and I were running her this afternoon, and there is plenty of petrol. There could not be a better chance. For all we know the black trackers may be here in the morning.”
She shuddered.
“Indeed they may. That possibility has been burning into my mind all day.”
“Well, then, we won’t have anyone here for them to find. Have you much food upstairs?”
“Quite enough for a week, with care, I think,” she said. “He would not starve, at all events: and there is fresh water on the island. He could catch fish, too: if he made a fire among the rocks and cooked fish at night, no one would see the smoke. There would be no difficulty or risk about his being there unless anyone landed.”