the board clear of its fastenings, lowered it to the ground.

We were too late.

The Lawn was no longer for sale.

* * * * *

Our chagrin may be imagined more easily than it can be described.

We returned to White Ladies in a state of profound depression,
alternately cursing Vandy and upbraiding ourselves for not having sent
for the book upon the evening of the day of our visit to Broken Ash.

Jonah reproached himself bitterly for giving our cousin the benefit of
his detective work, although both Daphne and I were positive that Vandy
had identified the pedestal from Adele's description before Jonah had
volunteered the suggestion that it was a sundial.

As for Adele, she was inconsolable.

It was after lunch--a miserable meal--when we were seated upon the
terrace, that Berry cleared his throat and spoke wisely and to the
point.

"The milk's spilt," he said, "and that's that. So we may as well dry our
eyes. With that perishing motto staring us in the face, we might have
had the sense to be a bit quicker off the mark. But it's always the
obvious that you never see. Vandy's beaten us by a foul, but there ain't
no stewards to appeal to, so we've got to stick it. All the same, he's
got some digging to do before he can draw the money, and I'm ready to
lay a monkey that he does it himself. What's more, the last thing he'll
want is to be disturbed. In fact, any interference with his work of
excavation will undoubtedly shorten his life. Properly organized
innocent interference will probably affect his reason. Our course of
action is therefore clear.

"Unable to procure his beastly book--our copy cannot be found--we have
forgotten the incident. It comes to our ears that he has bought The Lawn
and is in possession. What more natural than that some of us should
repair thither, to congratulate him upon becoming our neighbour? We
shall roll up quite casually--by way of the door in the wall--and, when
we find him labouring, affect the utmost surprise. Of our good nature we
might even offer to help him to--er--relay the lawn or tackle the
drains, or whatever he's doing. In any event we shall enact the _role_
of the village idiot, till between the respective gadflies of
suspicion--which he dare not voice--and impatience--which he dare not
reveal--he will be goaded into a condition of frenzy. What about it?"

The idea was heartily approved, and we became more cheerful.

Immediate arrangements