here; it hid nothing, unless it was the yard upon which it directly
opened.

But that yard! She remembered it well. It was unlike any other she had
ever seen in this country or her own. It was small and semicircular; it
was shut in by a high board fence except at the extreme end, where it was
met by a swinging bridge topping a forty-foot chasm. That bridge led
through a sparsely wooded forest to a road running in a quite different
direction from the one by which the house was approached. As she strove
to recall her memories of it, she became more and more assured that her
one and only opportunity for a successful flight lay that way. Moved to
joy at the thought, she bowed her head for one wild moment in heartfelt
thankfulness and then quickly drew the bolts of the door which offered
her this happy deliverance.

She did not mean to seek escape to-night, but an irresistible impulse,
which quite robbed her of her judgment, drove her to take a look into the
yard and make sure for herself that the bridge was still there and
everything as she had last seen it.

But when with the help of the wind she pulled open the heavy door and
stood, throbbing under the force of the gale, on the shallow step
outside, she found herself confronted by a darkness so hollow and so
absolute that she felt as though she had stumbled into a pit. But instead
of retreating, if only to procure a lantern, she took the one step down
to the narrow walk which led through grass and flowers to the edge of the
plateau from which the bridge extended. Would she be satisfied now? No,
she must see the bridge, or if she could not see it, must feel it with
her foot or touch it with her hand. Once sure of its presence there, she
would return, take off her clothing and seek refreshment.

But how was she to find her way in such absolute darkness? Alone with the
dying tempest, now moaning in fitful gusts, now shrieking a last protest
in her ear, she stood peering helplessly before her. Already her arms had
gone out like those of a blind person loosed upon an unknown road. She
was conscious of a great fear. All the solitude of her position had
rushed upon her. She felt herself lost, forsaken; yet she had no idea of
turning back. If she could but find some support--something upon which
to lay her fingers. She thought of the fence, and her courage revived. If
she could but reach and follow that!

There were obstacles in her way. She was sure of this, for she remember