The dust, too, upon the desk was the result of studied design. The "help" from the village--a temporary importation pending Mrs. Barcroft's return and provided she was successful in her distracting quest--had been strictly enjoined, browbeaten and threatened with divers pains and penalties, not to disturb Peter's papers. With luck he could find what he wanted in five minutes; without, in an hour. That is, if the desk had been left severely alone. Otherwise, should the timorous female dare to "side-up"--a Lancashire expression that puzzled Barcroft tremendously at first--the quest would be almost hopeless.
Had Philip Entwistle been more inquisitive and observant he might have noticed that on the top of the pile of literary debris were two objects that showed no signs of a coating of dust.
