Several cigarette ends were in the grate. An evening paper lay
upon the hearthrug. She knew from these things that a few yards away
Norris Vine lay sleeping.
Without hesitation, with swift and stealthy fingers, she commenced a
close and careful scrutiny of every inch of the room. In a quarter of
an hour she had satisfied herself. There was no hiding-place left which
could possibly have escaped her. The more dangerous part of her
enterprise was to come. Very softly she opened the door, leaving it ajar
as she had found it. She stood before the closed door of the bedroom.
Very slowly, and with the tips of her fingers, she turned the handle. It
opened without a sound. She had no garments on that rustled, and the
soles of her slippers were of thick felt. She stood inside the room
without having made the slightest sound. She held her breath for a
moment, and then summoning up her courage, she looked toward the bed.
The close-drawn curtains were unable to altogether exclude the early
morning sunlight which streamed in through the chinks of the curtains
and the uncovered part of the window.
Virginia stood as though she had been turned to stone.
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