She contrived to gratify this sometimes in a way that her husband failed to detect,--by drawing from his talk inferences that were exceedingly correct and which he had no thought of furnishing.

For Tyope knew his wife's weakness; he knew that if her ears and her eyes were sharp, her tongue was correspondingly swift; and he tried to be as guarded as possible toward her on any topic which he did not wish to become public property.

Nevertheless Hannay succeeded in outwitting her husband more than once, and in guessing with considerable accuracy things that he did not regard as belonging within the field of her knowledge.

So, for instance, while he had carefully avoided stating to her the object of the council, she nevertheless had put together in her own mind a number of minor points and hints to which he attached no importance, and had thus framed for herself a probable purpose of the meeting that fell not much short of the real truth.
The main desire that occupied Hannay's mind for the present was the union between Okoya and her daughter Mitsha.

Okoya had, unknown to himself, no stronger ally than the mother of the girl.