t,
uncertain flame of the fire showed him thus much, but left the remainder
of the figure in deep shadow.

Whether from excess of caution, or that she was yet hesitating what
course to take, she remained for some seconds motionless; and Norwood,
who had subdued his breathing to the utmost, lay in the deep shadow,
speculating on the upshot of an adventure from which he promised
himself, at least, an amusing story. The deep black lace which fell over
the arched instep indicated a degree of rank in the wearer that gave a
piquancy to the incident, and imparted a zest to the curiosity of a
man who probably knew no higher pleasure in life than in possessing the
secrets of his acquaintance.

He had time to run over in his mind a dozen little speculations of who
she was, ere she stirred; and at last, as if with change of purpose, he
saw, or fancied that he saw, the door beginning slowly to close. Whether
this was a mere trick of his excited imagination or not, a sudden
gesture of impatience on his part threw down one of the cushions of the
sofa. A slight shriek so slight as to be barely heard broke from the
female, and she banged the door to. Norwood reached it with a spring;
but although, as he wrenched it open, he could yet hear the rustling of
a woman's dress in the passage, the sharp sound of a door hastily shut
and locked defied all thought of pursuit, and he stood pondering over
what had happened, and almost doubtful of its reality.

"At least, the fair visitor belongs to the family; that much I may rely
upon," said he, as he lighted a candle to explore the locality a little
closer. The corridor, however, abruptly stopped at a small door, which
was locked on the inside; but to what portion of the house it led he
could not even conjecture. He was not a very unlikely man to trace the
clew of such an adventure as this seemed to be. It was one of
those incidents with which his course of life had made him somewhat
conversant; and few were better able to fill up from conjecture every
blank of such a history. Nor was he one to shrink from any suspicion,
no matter how repugnant to every thought of honor, nor how improbable to
every mind less imbued with vice than his own.

For a moment or two, however, he almost doubted whether the whole might
not have been a dream, so sudden, so brief, so trackless did it all
appear. This doubt, was, however, quickly resolved, as his eyes fell
upon the floor, where a small fragment of a lace