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Chapter XX: THE STAGE IS SET 
ME WENT ON, THE STRANGENESS OF THE ATMOSPHERE 
surrounding the Baroness and her household in- 
creased, until one found oneself moving in a maze of 
clues and counter-clues wherever her least action was 
concerned. Try as we might to keep ourselves with- 
             drawn from all the petty sordidness she brought with 
her to our island, it was inevitable that we should become continu- 
ally involved directly and indirectly in "situations." There were
no 
more visits exchanged between Friedo and the "Hacienda Paradise,"
as she had dubbed her place, but on the other hand it proved 
possible to avoid open hostilities. Since Lorenz came no more, our 
chief source of news was Wittmer, with whom we very nearly 
quarreled, owing to the Baroness's inspiring him with the idea that 
it was most likely we who had stolen his boat. Perhaps it was 
because he found us so unmoved by this insinuation that Wittmer 
decided to examine more closely the incidents of all thefts of which 
he had been the victim. When he had done this, he could hardly 
escape the conclusion that the Baroness bore the guilt. 
  This led to a fresh scene, which ended in Wittmer's forbidding 
his wife to associate with the Baroness in any way in future. On 
one of Wittmer's visits he brought us two documents to look at, 
which he had found pinned on the barrel at Post Office Bay. 
Whether anyone but himself had seen them he could not say. They 
were written in German-rather stupid and ineffectual, I thought, 
considering that most callers would be more familiar with English 
or Spanish. One contained a formal charge against Frederick and 
me for having slandered the Baroness, and against Frederick for 
having refused to render her medical aid when called upon to do so. 
Needless to say, no such request had ever been made. The second 
document was an equally formal charge against Herr Wittmer, 
accusing him of trespassing upon her property, and of falsely ac- 
cusing herself, her "husband," and their "comrade Lorenz,"
in the 
matter of certain goods (milk, lead, etc.) alleged to have been re- 
ceived by her in his behalf and not delivered. 
  Besides these, there was a "Wanted to Purchase" bill for four
hundred sheets of corrugated iron, forty window frames, and hard- 
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