the earthworks are up. There are sharp eyes over at the Fort."

"There don't seem to be any one in the house now," returned the other
after a moment's scrutiny of the cottage, "or the woman would surely
come out at the barking of the dog, even if she hadn't seen us. Likely
she's gone to Saucelito."

"So much the better. Just as well that she should know nothing until
it happens. Afterwards we'll settle with the husband for the price of
possession; he has only a squatter's rights. Come along; we'll have
bad weather before we get back round the Point again, but so much the
better, for it will keep off any inquisitive longshore cruisers."

They moved away. But Mrs. Bunker, stung through her benumbed and
brooding consciousness, and made desperate by this repeated revelation
of her former weakness, had heard enough to make her feverish to hear
more. She knew the intricacies of the shrubbery thoroughly. She knew
every foot of shade and cover of the clearing, and creeping like a cat
from bush to bush she managed, without being discovered, to keep
the party in sight and hearing all the time. It required no great
discernment, even for an inexperienced woman like herself, at the end of
an hour, to gather their real purpose. It was to prepare for the secret
landing of an armed force, disguised as laborers, who, under the outward
show of quarrying in the bluff, were to throw up breastworks, and
fortify the craggy shelf. The landing was fixed for that night, and was
to be effected by a vessel now cruising outside the Heads.

She understood it all now. She remembered Marion's speech about the
importance of the bluff for military purposes; she remembered the visit
of the officers from the Fort opposite. The strangers were stealing a