r feet, the wind blew so--till she saw the little white
church just before her. There was not a foot-track on the snow which
covered the steps leading to the door. But the wind and the snow would
cover up or blow away any such tracks in very short time, she
reflected;--yet,--what if the door were locked and nobody there! One
moment her heart stood still. No; things were better than that; the
door yielded to her hand. Diana went in, welcomed by the warm
atmosphere, which contrasted so pleasantly with the wind and the
snow-flakes, shut the door, shook herself, and opened one of the inner
doors which led into the audience room of the building.

CHAPTER XIX.

OUT OF HUMDRUM.

Warm, how good and warm! but empty. Perfectly empty. Perfectly still.
Empty pews, and empty pulpit; nobody, not a head visible anywhere. Not
a breath to be heard. The place was awful; it was like the ghost of a
church; all the life out of it. But how, then, came it to be warm?
Somebody must have made the fires; where was somebody gone? And had
none of all the congregation come to church that day? was it too bad
for everybody? Diana began to wake up to facts, as she heard the blast
drive against the windows, and listened to the swirl of it round the
house. And how was she going to get home, if it was so bad as that? At
any rate, here was still solitude and quiet and freedom; she could get
warm and enjoy it for awhile, and let Prince rest; she would not be in
a hurry. She turned to go to one of the corners of the room, where the
stoves were screened off by high screens in the interest of the
neighbouring pews; and then, just at the corner of the screen, from
where he had been watching her, she saw Mr. Masters. Diana did not know
whether to be sorry or glad. On the whole, she rather thought she was
glad; the church was eerie all alone.

"Mr. Masters!--I thought nobody was here."

"I thought nobody was going to be here. Good morning! Who else is
coming?"

"Who else? Nobody, I guess."

"How am I to understand that?"

"Just so,"--said Diana, coming up to the stove and putting her fingers
out towards the warmth.

"Where is the other half of your family?"

"I left mother at home."

"You came alone?"

"Yes, I came alone." Diana began to wonder a little at the situation in
which she found herself, and to revolve in her mind how she could make
use of it.

"Miss Diana, you have dared what no one else has dared."

"It was not daring,