ied out, and found Burt standing in front of the door.
It was blowing half a gale now, and the wind was bitterly cold.
There came a melancholy rasping and rustling from the leafless wood, and
every now and again a sharp crackling sound would announce that some
rotten branch had come crashing down. The clouds drove across the face
of the moon, so that at times the cold, clear light silvered the dark
wood and the old monastery, while at others all was plunged in darkness.
From the open door a broad golden bar was shot across the lawn from the
lamp in the hall. The three dark figures with their long fantastic
shadows looked eerie and unnatural in the yellow glare.
"Are we to have a lantern?" asked Burt.
"No, no," cried Ezra. "We shall see quite enough as it is. We don't
want a light."
"I have one," said the father. "We can use it if it is necessary.
I think we had better take our places now. She may come sooner than we
expect. It will be well to leave the door as it is. She will see that
there is no obstacle in the way."
"You're not half sharp enough," said Ezra. "If the door was left like
that it might suggest a trap to her. Better close the dining-room door
and then leave the hall door just a little ajar. That would look more
natural. She would conclude that Burt and you were in there."
"Where are Jorrocks and Rebecca?" Girdlestone asked, closing the door as
suggested.
"Jorrocks is in her room. Rebecca, I have no doubt, is in hers also."
"Things look safe enough. Come along, Burt. This way."
The three tramped their way across the gravelled drive and over the
slushy grass to the border of the wood.
"This is the withered oak," said Girdlestone, as a dark mass loomed in
front of them. It stood somewhat apart from the other trees, and the
base of it was free from the brambles which formed a thick undergrowth
elsewhere.
Burt walked round the great trunk and made as careful an examination of
the ground as he could in the dark.
"Would the lantern be of any use to you?" Girdlestone asked.
"No, It's all serene. I think I know how to fix it now. You two can
get behind those trees, or where you like, as long as you're not in the
way. I don't want no 'sistance. When Jem Burt takes a job in hand he
carries it through in a workmanlike manner. I don't want nobody else
foolin' around."
"We would not dream of interfering with your arrangements," said
Girdlestone.
"You'd better not!" Bu
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