Read the following sentence from paragraph 13. Mrs. Packletide was pardonably annoyed at the discovery; but, at any rate, she was the
possessor of a dead tiger, and the villagers, anxious for their thousand rupees, gladly connived
at the fiction that she had shot the beast.
What does the phrase "gladly connived at the fiction" mean?
They were willing to allow everyone to believe a lie.
They were concerned they would not receive their money.
They were ready to tell everyone about Mrs. Packletide's trip.
o They were prepared to share the news that the tiger was dead.