elling, and (for all I knew) was
desperately lost. Indeed, at the cross-roads, two miles back, there had
been nothing for me but to choose the way that kept the wind on my face,
and it gnawed me like a dog.

Mainly to allay the stinging of my eyes, I pulled up at last, turned
right-about-face, leant back against the blast with a hand on my hat,
and surveyed the blackness behind. It was at this instant that, far
away to the left, a point of light caught my notice, faint but steady;
and at once I felt sure it burnt in the window of a house. "The house,"
thought I, "is a good mile off, beside the other road, and the light
must have been an inch over my hat-brim for the last half-hour."
This reflection--that on so wide a moor I had come near missing the
information I wanted (and perhaps a supper) by one inch--sent a strong
thrill down my back.

I cut straight across the heather towards the light, risking quags and
pitfalls. Nay, so heartening was the chance to hear a fellow creature's
voice, that I broke into a run, skipping over the stunted gorse that
cropped up here and there, and dreading every moment to see the light
quenched. "Suppose it burns in an upper window, and the family is going
to bed, as would be likely at this hour--" The apprehension kept my
eyes fixed on the bright spot, to the frequent scandal of my legs, that
within five minutes were stuck full of gorse prickles.

But the light did not go out, and soon a flicker of moonlight gave me a
glimpse of the house's outline. It proved to be a deal more imposing
than I looked for--the outline, in fact, of a tall, square barrack, with
a cluster of chimneys at either end, like ears, and a high wall, topped
by the roofs of some outbuildings, concealing the lower windows. There
was no gate in this wall, and presently I guessed the reason. I was
approaching the place from behind, and the light came from a back window
on the first floor.

The faintness of the light also was explained by this time. It shone
behind a drab-coloured blind, and in shape resembled the stem of a
wine-glass, broadening out at the foot; an effect produced by the
half-drawn curtains within. I came to a halt, waiting for the next ray
of moonlight. At the same moment a rush of wind swept over the
chimney-stacks, and on the wind there seemed to ride a human sigh.

On this last point I may err. The gust had passed some seconds before I
caught myself detecting this peculiar note, and