midday
It was practically impossible that anyone could have heard of the identity of Keogh with the missing Considine . How then had the story got about that her husband was dead , and that she had come into money ? She must have seen Considine get on the coach , but she had made no sign . Their astonishment was deeper than ever when the coach stopped for a midday halt . It was quite impossible for Considine to conceal himself . The house , where the coach changed horses , was a galvanised-iron , one-roomed edifice in the middle of a glaring expanse of treeless plain , in which a quail could scarcely have hidden successfully . It was clear that Considine and his wife would have to come face to face .