ross her path it was tiresome to have an unappreciative
companion who took everything as a matter of course.

Presently a trifling accident brought about a change in the situation.
At the farther end of the long cellar there was a very faint glimmer of
light coming through a grating overhead.

"That's where your money dropped down," observed Mrs. Winter. "You are
sure to find it scattered on the ground under the grating."

At this suggestion Madge very naturally ran forward, and the violent
draught coming from the opening above blew out the candle she carried
in her hand.

Poor Mrs. Winter was greatly disturbed by suddenly finding herself in
the dark. Even by the light of the candle it had seemed hard work to
her coming down the steep steps, and how she was ever to get up them
again in total darkness she really did not know. Yet she would not
consent to let Madge go back to the hall where the matches had had been
left and light the candle, fearing that the little girl might set fire
to the house.

"Then I may stay here in the dark by myself while you go, may I?"
pleaded Madge, who did not wish to waste a minute of her time in this
exciting place.

"Yes, I suppose so," replied Mrs. Winter, rather wondering at the
little girl's taste, but too much occupied in the effort of feeling her
way to the stairs to pay much attention to anything else. Presently
she could be heard slowly mounting step by step, then the door at the
top of the stairs shut with a noisy clang behind her, and there was
silence.

Madge was all alone in the dark. It was certainly delightfully
exciting, but not, strictly speaking, quite so enjoyable as she had
anticipated. The chief pleasure would be in afterwards describing to
Betty and John what had happened. In the meantime she would be very
brave, and Mrs. Winter might return at any moment with the candle.

The worst of darkness and silence is, that they seem to increase every
moment. What is merely gloomy at first becomes almost intolerable as
time goes on. All sorts of horrid ideas came into Madge's head. Could
it be that Mrs. Winter had shut her in and gone home? Or fallen down
in a fit in the hall? Or that the cellar door had slammed with a
spring-lock and could not be got open again? None of these
suppositions would have seemed very probable in the light; but Madge
was becoming too frightened to form a clear judgment on the subject.
She longed to call out in the hopes of gett