e on it these words: "The Lottery is expected at Polperro tonight.
They will land at Down End as soon as the tide will let them get near."

Folding this, he once more mounted the window-sill, tossed the paper
into the room, lingered for but an instant to see that it was picked
up, then jumped down, ran with all speed, and was soon lost amid the
darkness which surrounded him.

As he hurried from the house an echo seemed to carry to his ears the
shout which greeted this surprise--a surprise which set every one
talking at once, each one speaking and no one listening. Some were for
going, some for staying away, some for treating it as a serious matter,
others for taking it as a joke.

At length the officer called "Silence!" and after a pause, addressing
the men present in a few words, he said that however it might turn out
he considered that he should only be doing his duty by ordering the
boats to proceed to the place named and see what amount of truth there
was in this somewhat mysterious manoeuvre. If it was nothing but a hoax
they must bear to have the laugh once more turned against them; but
should it turn out the truth! The buzz which greeted this bare
supposition showed how favorably his decision was regarded, and the
absent men were ordered to be summoned without delay. Everything was
got ready as quickly as possible, and in a little over an hour two
boats started, fully equipped and manned, to lie in ambush near the
coast midway between Looe and Polperro.

While Fate, in the shape of Reuben May, had been hastening events
toward a disastrous climax, the course of circumstances in Polperro had
not gone altogether smoothly. To Eve's vexation, because of the
impossibility of speaking of her late encounter with Reuben May, she
found on her return home that during her absence Mrs. Tucker had
arrived, with the rare and unappreciated announcement that she had come
to stop and have her tea with them. The example set by Mrs. Tucker was
followed by an invitation to two or three other elderly friends, so
that between her hospitality and her excitement Joan had no opportunity
of noticing any undue change in Eve's manner or appearance. Two or
three remarks were made on her pale face and abstracted air, but this
more by the way of teasing than anything else; while Joan, remembering
the suppressed anxiety she was most probably trying to subdue,
endeavored to come to her aid and assist in turning away this
over-scrutiny of her