singular, easy, and apparently aimless promenade. We did not speak,
but lay trembling, and scarcely daring to breathe. Our room was long,
and the distance to the open door so great that we could not hope to
reach it unnoticed in the darkness, before the step would be upon us
again. Besides, the lock was out of order, so that even if we could
have summoned courage to shut it, it could not be fastened. The
stairway, too, was at such a distance beyond our door, that we did not
dare to try that way of escape, bringing us, as it would, face to face
with our unseen visitor. There was nothing left but silent endurance,
and thus we lay counting the footsteps through the long hours. We
could not hope, either, that the other members of the family would be
aroused, as their sleeping-rooms were not directly below us, but
beyond, in the wings. The clock struck two, and half-past, and
steadily the step kept on its regular sound, passing and repassing our
door. It grew insupportable. It seemed as though I should not be able
to keep from shrieking aloud each time it drew near. If we could have
spoken to each other we might have regained some courage, but we were
paralyzed with nervous fear; our throats were parched, and our muscles
rigid with long continued tension, for we dared not move. It was like
a spell, and the fact that we did not know what it was we feared, made
the fear all the more intense. At length, after what seemed a century
of suffering, the strange footsteps paused. Our hearts gave a leap.
Was it coming in? Who was it? Would it come and stand by the bedside,
and look at us in the darkness? No! Slowly--and steadily it went down
the stairs. We counted every step to the bottom. Then a pause. Would
it go towards the dining-room, where the silver was, or towards the
sleeping-rooms? We almost hoped it would, for that would prove a
desire for plunder. Still silence! We dared not move for fear it might
have crept softly up the stairs; it might even now be crawling towards
us in the darkness. We shuddered; the silence seemed worse than the