culate upon whence they had come and whither they were bound.

On that eventful evening Rebecca went to bed rather earlier than usual.
Kate retired to her room, and having made her final preparations and
stuffed her few articles of jewelry into her pockets, to serve in place
of money, she lay down upon her bed, and trembled at the thought of what
was in front of her. Down below she could hear her guardian's shuffling
step as he moved about the refectory. Then came the creaking of the
rusty lock as he secured the door, and shortly afterwards he passed
upstairs to his room. Mrs. Jorrocks had also gone to bed, and all was
quiet in the house.

Kate knew that some hours must elapse before she could venture to make
the attempt. She remembered to have read in some book that the sleep of
a human being was usually deepest about two in the morning, so she had
chosen that hour for her enterprise. She had put on her strongest dress
and her thickest shoes, but had muffled the latter in cloth, so that
they should make no sound. No precaution which she could think of had
been neglected. There was now nothing to be done but to spend the time
as best she might until the hour of action should arrive.

She rose and looked out of the window again. The tide was out now, and
the moon glittered upon the distant ocean. A mist was creeping up,
however, and even as she looked it drew its veil over the water.
It was bitterly cold. She shivered and her teeth began to chatter.
Stretching herself upon the bed once more, she wrapped the blankets
round her, and, worn out with anxiety and fatigue, dropped into a
troubled sleep.

She slumbered some hours before she awoke.

Looking at her watch she found that it was after two. She must not
delay any longer. With the little bundle of her more valuable
possessions in her hand, she gave such a gasp as a diver gives before he
makes his spring, and slipping past Rebecca's half-opened door she felt
her way down the wooden stair, picking her steps very carefully.

Even in the daytime she had often noticed how those old planks creaked
and cracked beneath her weight. Now, in the dead silence of the night,
they emitted such sounds that her heart sank within her. She stopped
several times, convinced that she must be discovered, but all was hushed
and still. It was a relief when at last she reached the ground-floor,
and was able to feel her way along the passage to the door.

Shaking in every l