wo days later, Ted saw my car going along one of the back roads near
the village, signaled to me, and told me that, the day before, he had
caught you girls coming out of Curlew's Nest and that you acted rather
guilty and refused to explain what you had been in there for. He told me
that you might possibly suspect something, and to steer clear of you if
we should happen to encounter each other, as it is always likely that
people will, in this town. He described what you both looked like, so
that I couldn't fail to know you.

"And, sure enough, I met you both that very morning, in Mrs. Selby's
little store, and I expect you think I acted in a perfectly abominable
manner. I just hated to do it, for I liked the looks of you both, but I
felt I must take no chances. Ted also told me that he had been in
Curlew's Nest the night before and had gone over the place very carefully
once more, but had found nothing except a string of beads that had been
torn from the fringe of my girdle that other night, and had been lying on
the floor. I remember that the girdle caught when I was looking under one
of the bureaus. He also gave me the broken penknife-blade to keep, as he
said it was best to leave nothing around there that any one else could
discover and use as a clue.

"A day or two later I met you, Phyllis, at Aunt Sally's and she _would_
insist on introducing us, though I could see you were no more anxious to
make the acquaintance, after the way I'd acted, than I was. But I
encountered Ted again that afternoon, and he said he had hunted me up to
tell me he had news and also a plan that he wanted to suggest. He said he
had noticed, during the last two or three days, a strange man who seemed
to haunt the beach, just a short way off and out of sight of the two
bungalows. The man seemed to be a very ardent fisherman,--and an expert
one, too,--but Ted had noticed that he kept a very sharp lookout toward
the bungalows when he thought no one was around to see. He suspected that
perhaps this man had something to do with the mystery.

"The plan he suggested was that I get acquainted with you girls, after
all, in some way that seemed the most natural, but without letting you
know that I was also acquainted with _him_. And when I had done so, I had
better offer to take you all out for a long drive in the car and keep you
away a good while, and give him a chance to see what this man was up
to--if anything.

"The getting acquainted was easy,