walking back and forth from the window to the wall, for she long heard
the regular cadence of his steps. Then deep silence ensued; he had
doubtless seated himself. Finally every noise ceased and all was as if
asleep. When slumber appeared to her to have settled on the house she
opened her window as gently as possible and leaned her elbows on the
sill.

Without, the night had a warm serenity. The slender crescent of the
moon, which was sinking behind the forest of Sauval, lit up the country
with the glimmer of a night lamp. The lengthened shadows of the tall
trees barred the meadows with black, while the grass in uncovered spots
assumed the softness of greenish velvet. But Francoise did not pause
to admire the mysterious charms of the night. She examined the country,
searching for the sentinels whom the Germans had posted obliquely. She
clearly saw their shadows extending like the rounds of a ladder along
the Morelle. Only one was before the mill, on the other shore of the
river, beside a willow, the branches of which dipped in the water.
Francoise saw him plainly. He was a tall man and was standing
motionless, his face turned toward the sky with the dreamy air of a
shepherd.

When she had carefully inspected the locality she again seated herself
on her bed. She remained there an hour, deeply absorbed. Then she
listened once more: there was not a sound in the mill. She returned to
the window and glanced out, but doubtless one of the horns of the moon,
which was still visible behind the trees, made her uneasy, for she
resumed her waiting attitude. At last she thought the proper time
had come. The night was as black as jet; she could no longer see the
sentinel opposite; the country spread out like a pool of ink. She
strained her ear for an instant and made her decision. Passing near the
window was an iron ladder, the bars fastened to the wall, which mounted
from the wheel to the garret and formerly enabled the millers to reach
certain machinery; afterward the mechanism had been altered, and for a
long while the ladder had been hidden under the thick ivy which covered
that side of the mill.

Francoise bravely climbed out of her window and grasped one of the bars
of the ladder. She began to descend. Her skirts embarrassed her greatly.
Suddenly a stone was detached from the wall and fell into the Morelle
with a loud splash. She stopped with an icy shiver of fear. Then she
realized that the waterfall with its continuous r