Then a cold chill crept over her as she remembered the lie Lucy had told--"not a soul on the beach but Meg and the sandsnipe." For an instant she stood without answering.

But for the window-sill on which her hand rested she would have betrayed her emotion in the swaying of her body.

She tried to collect her thoughts.

To deny Jane's identity too positively would only make the situation worse.

If either one of the sisters were to be criticised Jane could stand it best.
"You got sharp eyes and ears, Ann Gossaway, nobody will deny you them, but still I don't think Miss Jane was on the beach yesterday." "Don't think, don't you?
Maybe you think I can't tell a cloak from a bed blanket, never havin' made one, and maybe ye think I don't know my own clo'es when I see 'em on folks.