only hope
is in sleepless watchfulness. How long I shall be able to live without
sleep, God knows."

In this manner the night was passed--night in the outer world; for to her
the night and day were alike, and she could only guess as to which
prevailed above her. She sat down to collect her thoughts and form, if
possible, some plan of action by which to be governed. While thus engaged,
she recollected the note she had given to Bill, the memory of which had
been crowded from her mind for the past few hours by the pressure of other
things.

"Oh, if I but knew how it would affect them!" she said, as she suffered her
thoughts to dwell upon the subject. "They will certainly see the folly of
trusting in Duffel, and the imminent danger they are exposed to in his
service; but will they, can they help me? I will hope even if it is vain to
do so. It is a fearful thing to be compelled to throw one's self into the
hands and upon the mercy of such bad men; but God can overrule the evil
intentions of the wicked, and very bad men sometimes perform noble and
generous deeds."

Ah! had she known that at the very moment she was thus endeavoring to
console herself, Bill was taking an impression of the lock to the door of
the outer room, for the purpose of taking her to another prison, farther
from home and hope than the one she was now confined in, how the little
hope from that source would have died in her bosom!

After remaining for some length of time in a state of attempted repose, her
mind, the while, completely absorbed in contemplating her own situation,
she finally concluded to go out into the other apartment, and make another
effort there, to find the entrance, if such there was, to her own room.

She had not been thus employed long, when a knocking at the outer door
attracted her attention. She listened a moment, and then, supposing it to
be Duffel, was about to retire to the inner cavity and bar him out; but
just as she started to put this resolve in execution, her steps were
arrested by hearing her own name called in a voice not like Duffel's. She
instantly paused, and the call was repeated:

"Miss Mandeville! If you are present and hear me, please step to this door
and look into the keyhole. It is a friend, who will aid you, that is now
addressing you."

With a beating heart, she quickly reached the door, and from the place
designated drew a small, compact roll of paper. On it were traced some
lines by one who was evide