He looked down at her, and again she had an uncomfortable sense that notwithstanding his rude clothes and country dialect, this man was no ordinary villager.  He said nothing, however, until she produced her purse, and held out a little tentatively two half-crowns.

“You are very kind,” he said.  “I will take one if you will allow me.  That is quite sufficient.  You see the Hall behind the trees there.  You cannot miss your way, I think, and if you will take my advice you will not wander about in the marshes here except at high tide.  The sea comes in to the most unexpected places, and very quickly, too, sometimes.  Good morning!”

“Good morning, and thank you very much,” she answered, turning away toward the road.

* * *

Cecil de la Borne was standing at the end of the drive when she appeared, a telescope in his hand.  He came hastily down the road to meet her, a very slim and elegant figure in his well-cut flannel clothes, smoothly brushed hair, and irreproachable tie.

“My dear Miss Jeanne,” he exclaimed, “I have only just heard that you were out.  Do you generally get up in the middle of the night?”

She smiled a little half-heartedly.  It was curious that she found herself contrasting for a moment this very elegant young man with her roughly dressed companion of a few minutes ago.

“To meet with an adventure such as I have had,” she answered, “I would never go to bed at all.  I have been nearly drowned, and rescued by a most marvellous person.  He brought me back to safety in a flat-bottomed punt, and I am quite sure from the way he stared at them that he had never seen open-work stockings before.”

“Are you in earnest?” Cecil asked doubtfully.

“Absolutely,” she answered.  “I was walking there among the marshes, and I suddenly found myself surrounded by the sea.  The tide had come up behind me without my noticing.  A most mysterious person came to my rescue.  He wore the clothes of a fisherman, and he accepted half a crown, but I have my doubts about him even now.  He said that his name was Mr. Andrew.”

Cecil opened the gate and they walked up towards the house.  A slight frown had appeared upon his forehead.

“Do you know him?” she asked.

“I know who he is,” he answered.  “He is a queer sort of fellow, lives all alone, and is a bit cranky, they say.  Come in and have some breakfast.  I don’t suppose that any one else will be down for ages.”

She shook her head.

“I will send my woman down for some coffee,” she answered.  “I am going upstairs to change.  I am just a little wet, and I must try and find some thicker shoes.”

Cecil sighed.

“One sees so little of you,” he murmured, “and I was looking forward to a tete-a-tete breakfast.”

She shook her head as she left him in the hall.

“I couldn’t think of it,” she declared.  “I’ll appear with the others later on.  Please find out all you can about Mr. Andrew and tell me.”