Well, well! too much dwelling on this point would only unfit her
for what lay before her on the morrow. She would read no more.
Sleep were a better preparation for her second interview with the
judge than this reconsideration of facts already known to their
last detail.
Alas, when her eyelids finally obeyed the dictates of her will,
the first glimmering rays of dawn were beginning to scatter the
gloom of her darkened chamber!
X
THE SHADOW
Bela was to be buried at four. As Judge Ostrander prepared to lock
his gate behind the simple cortege which was destined to grow into
a vast crowd before it reached the cemetery, he was stopped by the
sergeant who whispered in his ear:
"I thought your honour might like to know that the woman--you know
the one I mean without my naming her--has been amusing herself
this morning in a very peculiar manner. She broke down some
branches in the ravine,--small ones, of course,--and would give no
account of herself when one of my men asked her what she was up
to. It may mean nothing, but I thought you would like to know."
"Have you found out who she is?"
"No, sir. The man couldn't very well ask her to lift her veil, and
at the tavern they have nothing to say about her."
"It's a small matter. I will see her myself today and find out
what she wants of me. Meanwhile, remember that I leave this house
and grounds absolutely to your protection for the next three
hours. I shall be known to be absent, so that a more careful watch
than ever is necessary.
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