small lawn-mower, a roller and so
forth. A seat ran along the back of it, whereon the bowls-players could
sit when it rained.

Antony tapped the wall at the back.

"This is where the passage ought to begin. It doesn't sound very hollow,
does it?"

"It needn't begin here at all, need it?" said Bill, walking round with
bent head, and tapping the other walls. He was just too tall to stand
upright in the shed.

"There's only one reason why it should, and that is that it would save
us the trouble of looking anywhere else for it. Surely Mark didn't
let you play croquet on his bowling-green?" He pointed to the croquet
things.

"He didn't encourage it at one time, but this year he got rather keen
about it. There's really nowhere else to play. Personally I hate the
game. He wasn't very keen on bowls, you know, but he liked calling it
the bowling-green, and surprising his visitors with it."

Antony laughed.

"I love you on Mark," he said. "You're priceless."

He began to feel in his pockets for his pipe and tobacco, and then
suddenly stopped and stiffened to attention. For a moment he stood
listening, with his head on one side, holding up a finger to bid Bill
listen too.

"What is it?" whispered Bill.

Antony waved him to silence, and remained listening. Very quietly he
went down on his knees, and listened again. Then he put his ear to the
floor. He got up and dusted himself quickly, walked across to Bill and
whispered in his ear:

"Footsteps. Somebody coming. When I begin to talk, back me up."

Bill nodded. Antony gave him an encouraging pat on the back, and stepped
firmly across to the box of bowls, whistling loudly to himself. He took
the bowls out, dropped one with a loud bang on the floor, said, "Oh,
Lord!" and went on:

"I say, Bill, I don't think I want to play bowls, after all."

"Well, why did you say you did?" grumbled Bill.

Antony flashed a smile of appreciation at him.

"Well, I wanted to when I said I did, and now I don't want to."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Talk."

"Oh, right-o!" said Bill eagerly.

"There's a seat on the lawn I saw it. Let's bring these things along in
case we want to play, after all."

"Right-o!" said Bill again. He felt safe with that, not wishing to
commit himself until he knew what he was wanted to say.

As they went across the lawn, Antony dropped the bowls and took out his
pipe.

"Got a match?" he said loudly.

As he bent his head over the match, he w