he, sternly.

The next moment she was gone, locking the door behind her, and I was
left shivering, and in total darkness, to spend the remainder of the
night in these unexpected quarters.

My first sensation was one of utter and uncontrollable rage. I was
tempted to fling myself against the door, to shout, to roar until some
one should come to release me. Then as suddenly came over me the
miserable certainty that I was helpless, and that anything I did would
be but labour lost, and injure no one but myself. And, Smith, too! It
was all up with our precious secret parleys; perhaps we should not even
be allowed to see one another any more. In my misery I sat down on the
floor in a corner of my dungeon and felt as if I would not much care if
the house were to fall about my ears and bury me in the ruins. Cheerful
reflection this for a youth of my tender years!

As I sat, shivering and brooding over my hard fate, I heard footsteps
ascending the stairs. When you are sitting alone in an empty room, at
the dead of night, this is never a very fascinating sound, and I did not
much enjoy it.

And as I listened I could make out that the footsteps belonged to two
people. Perhaps I was going to be murdered, I reflected, like Prince
Arthur, or the two boys in the Tower! At the same moment a streak of
light glimmered through the crack of the door, and I heard a voice say,
"Come this way, Smith."

So Smith, too, was going to be locked up for the night. My heart
bounded as for an instant it occurred to me it would be in my dungeon!
No such good fortune! They passed my door. At any rate, my chum should
know where I was, so I proceeded to make a demonstration against my door
and beseech, in the most piteous way, to be released. Of course, it was
no use, but that did not matter; I never expected it would.

I listened hard to the retreating footsteps, which stopped at the end of
the passage. Then a door opened and shut again, a key turned, one pair
of steps again returned past my door, and as I peeped through the
keyhole I had a vague idea of a yellow-and-black gown, and knew that the
Henniker had gone back to her place.

If only Smith had been shut up next door to me I might have been able to
shout to him so that he could hear, but what chance was there when three
or four rooms at least divided us? After all, except that he was near
me, and knew where I was, things were not much better than they had been
before. So I