What could he want in the desolate
neighborhood of the house and church-yard at that time of night?
The man wanted--what the man found a little lower down the lane, hidden
in a dismantled part of the church-yard wall--a letter from a young
lady. Read by the light of the pocket-lantern which he carried with him,
the letter first congratulated this person on the complete success of
his disguise--and then promised that the writer would be ready at her
bedroom window for flight the next morning, before the house was astir.
The signature was "Natalie," and the person addressed was "Dearest
Launce."
In the meanwhile, Turlington barred the window shutters of the room, and
looked at his watch. It wanted only a quarter to nine o'clock. He took
his dog-whistle from the chimney-piece, and turned his steps at once in
the direction of the drawing-room, in which his guests were passing the
evening.
TWELFTH SCENE.
Inside the House.
The scene in the drawing-room represented the ideal of domestic comfort.
The fire of wood and coal mixed burned brightly; the lamps shed a soft
glow of light; the solid shutters and the thick red curtains kept the
cold night air on the outer side of two long windows, which opened on
the back garden.
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