"So! That's how you lie out of it, is it?" she cried scornfully. "An' you expect me to believe a yarn like that! Do you s'pose I don't know this country's at war, an' that the authorities are on the lookout for folks concealin' gunpowder in their houses? How do I know you weren't goin' to make the stuff into bombs, or carry it somewheres an' blow up somethin' or other with it?" "Indeed, oh, indeed we weren't," Mary cried, thoroughly alarmed. "Oh, what shall we do!" Eliza sobbed, wringing her hands. "Nonsense," cut in Jane. "You know perfectly well, Miss Webster, we ain't no German plotters. I'm sorry----" "You're sorry I caught you before you had a chance to drop that bag in my brook," said Ellen, a twinkle in her eye. "I'll bet you are. Have you thought that I can have you arrested for trespassing on my land?" "Oh, Jane!" The horrified voices of Mary and Jane greeted with concern this new danger. Ellen was exulting in her triumph. "You can, of course, have us arrested if you wish to," said Jane. "Well, I ain't a-goin' to--at least I ain't, on one condition. An' I'll promise not to give you over to the police as spies, neither, if you do as I say." "What do you want us to do?" inquired Mary and Eliza breathlessly. Jane was silent. "Mebbe _you'd_ like to know the condition," sneered the old woman, addressing Jane. She waited for a reply, but none came. Ellen looked baffled. "You'd better accept the chance I give you to buy yourself off," she said. "That is my affair." "Do, Jane! Do promise," begged Mary and Eliza. "Please do, for our sakes." "Very well," Jane returned. "But I only do it to protect my sisters. What is the condition?" With head thrown back she faced Ellen coldly. "The condition is that you take that bag of gunpowder back home to your brother Martin an' tell him Ellen Webster sent it to him with her compliments. He can use it blastin' out stones to fix up his stone wall." Then, with a taunting laugh, the woman turned and without more adieu disappeared in the direction of the Webster homestead, leaving a speechless trio of chagrined Howes behind her. CHAPTER VIII WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY May came and went, and June, rich in days of splendor, made its advent, and still Lucy caught only fleeting glimpses of the Howes. Martin, to be sure, was daily abroad, toiling with the zest of an Amazon in garden and hay-field. Against the homely background of stubble or brown earth, his sturdy form stood out with the beauty of a Millet painting. But his sisters held themselves aloof, avoiding all possibility of contact with their neighbors.