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The Lure of the North by Harold Bindloss
page 76 of 313 (24%)
felt-soled slippers, stopped and listened, while her heart beat fast.
She heard nothing now, but felt alarmed, and wondered what she ought to
do. A call would probably bring an answer that would banish her fears;
but suppose it was not Mabel she had heard? There was, however, another
way of finding out, and with something of an effort she went upstairs.

Mrs. Farnam's room was on the landing, and Agatha turned the handle
cautiously. The door would not open, and it was obvious that Mabel had
locked herself in. Then the latch slipped back with a jar that sounded
horribly loud, and she waited, trembling and trying to keep calm. Since
Mabel had not heard the noise, it was plain that she was asleep and
somebody else was in the house. Still Mabel, if awakened, would not be
of much help, and remembering that the pistol was in her room, Agatha
went down the passage.

The passage was very cold, a curtain swayed in an icy draught, and she
found the door of her room open. Stopping for a moment, she thought
there was somebody inside. This, however, might be a trick of her
imagination, and although she wanted to steal away, she knew that if she
did so she would lose her self-respect and the confidence she would need
for her journey to the North. She must brave real dangers in the wilds
and live among rude men. Besides, the pistol was on a table near the
door.

Somebody moved as she went in, for there was a rustle and a board
cracked, but her hand touched the pistol and she turned on the powerful
electric torch. As the beam of light swept across the room she saw that
the drawer of a small writing-table had been pulled out. Then the beam
passed on and touched a man kneeling beside her open trunk. The clothes
she had not unpacked were scattered on the floor, as if the man had been
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