erhaps, stood in the
greatest need; but there was no lingering in her step, and to me, who
understood her fault only through the faint sound of infantile wailing
which accompanied her departure, there was a nobility in her action
which raised her in an instant to an almost ideal height of unselfish
virtue.

Perhaps they felt this, too. Perhaps even these hardened men and the
more than hardened woman whose presence was in itself a blight,
recognised heroism when they saw it; for when the lawyer, with a certain
obvious reluctance, laid his hand on the bolts of the door with the
remark, "This is not my work, you know; I am but following out
instructions very minutely given me," the smothered growls and grunts
which rose in reply lacked the venom which had been infused into all
their previous comments.

"I think our friends out there are far enough withdrawn by this time for
us to hazard the opening of the door," the lawyer now remarked. "Madam,
I hope you will speedily find your way to some comfortable shelter."

Then the door opened, and after a moment closed again in a silence which
at least was respectful. Yet I warrant there was not a soul remaining
who had not already figured in his mind to what extent his own fortune
had been increased by the failure of one of their number to inherit.

As for me, my whole interest in the affair was at an end, and I was only
anxious to find my way to where this desolate woman faced the mist with
her unfed baby in her arms.

III

A LIFE DRAMA

But, to reach this wanderer, it was first necessary for me to escape
from the house. This proved simple enough. The upstairs room toward
which I rushed had a window overlooking one of the many lean-tos already
mentioned. The window was fastened, but I had little difficulty in
unlocking it or in finding my way to the ground from the top of the
lean-to. But once again on _terra-firma_, I discovered that the mist was
now so thick that it had all the effect of a fog at sea. It was icy cold
as well, and clung to me so closely that I presently began to shudder
most violently, and, strong man though I was, wish myself back in the
little attic bedroom from which I had climbed in search of one in more
unhappy case than myself.

But these feelings did not cause me to return. If I found the night
cold, she must find it biting. If desolation oppressed my naturally
hopeful spirit, must it not be more overwhelming yet to one whose
memories were sa