it rained: determined to admit them in spite of the prohibition,
should they return. In a while, I distinguished steps coming up
the road, and the light of a lantern glimmered through the gate. I
threw a shawl over my head and ran to prevent them from waking Mr.
Earnshaw by knocking. There was Heathcliff, by himself: it gave
me a start to see him alone.

'Where is Miss Catherine?' I cried hurriedly. 'No accident, I
hope?' 'At Thrushcross Grange,' he answered; 'and I would have
been there too, but they had not the manners to ask me to stay.'
'Well, you will catch it!' I said: 'you'll never be content till
you're sent about your business. What in the world led you
wandering to Thrushcross Grange?' 'Let me get off my wet clothes,
and I'll tell you all about it, Nelly,' he replied. I bid him
beware of rousing the master, and while he undressed and I waited
to put out the candle, he continued - 'Cathy and I escaped from the
wash-house to have a ramble at liberty, and getting a glimpse of
the Grange lights, we thought we would just go and see whether the
Lintons passed their Sunday evenings standing shivering in corners,
while their father and mother sat eating and drinking, and singing
and laughing, and burning their eyes out before the fire. Do you
think they do? Or reading sermons, and being catechised by their
manservant, and set to learn a column of Scripture names, if they
don't answer properly?' 'Probably not,' I responded. 'They are
good children, no doubt, and don't deserve the treatment you
receive, for your bad conduct.' 'Don't cant, Nelly,' he said:
'nonsense! We ran from the top of the Heights to the park, without
stopping - Catherine completely beaten in the race, because she was
barefoot. You'll have to seek for her shoes in the bog to-morrow.
We crept through a broken hedge, groped our way up the path, and