After glancing over her
shoulder to assure herself that no one had followed her upstairs, she
took the lock of hair, and quickly hid it away in her bosom.
Her eyes had assured her that there was no one in the room; but, if she
had not been deprived of the sense of hearing, she would have known
that persons were approaching it, by the sound of voices on the
stairs--a man's voice being among them. Necessarily ignorant, however,
of this, she advanced unconcernedly, after taking the lock of hair,
from the table to the chimney-piece, which it struck her might be the
safest place to leave the money on. She had just put it down there,
when she felt the slight concussion caused by the opening and closing
of the door behind her; and turning round instantly, confronted Patty,
the landlady, and the strange swarthy-faced friend of Zack's, who had
made her a present of the scarlet tobacco-pouch.
Terror and confusion almost overpowered her, as she saw him advance to
the chimney-piece and take up the packet she had just placed there. He
had evidently opened the room-door in time to see her put it down; and
he was now deliberately unfolding the paper and examining the money
inside.
While he was thus occupied, Patty came close up to her, and, with
rather a confused and agitated face, began writing on her slate, much
faster and much less correctly than usual.
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