The footsteps which he had heard seemed to be
underneath the shed; probably there was a trap-door of some kind
in the floor. Whoever it was would have heard their voices, and
would probably think it worth while to listen to what they were
saying. He might do this merely by opening the door a little
without showing himself, in which case Antony would have found
the entrance to the passage without any trouble to himself. But
when Bill turned his head and talked over the back of the seat,
it was probable that the listener would find it necessary to put
his head outside in order to hear, and then Antony would be able
to discover who it was. Moreover, if he should venture out of
his hiding-place altogether and peep at them over the top of the
bank, the fact that Bill was talking over the back of the seat
would mislead the watcher into thinking that Antony was still
there, sitting on the grass, no doubt, behind the seat, swinging
his legs over the side of the ditch.
He walked quickly but very silently along the half-length of the
bowling-green to the first corner, passed cautiously round, and
then went even more carefully along the width of it to the second
corner.
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