it for the other. But I might as well have
dreamed of changing the moon in the sky.
If only my eyes rested upon it, some subtle
sixth sense made her aware of my notice of
it. As for loosing it over her hand at any
time, it never so much as fell forward
towards her wrist, even when she was eating;
for in order to secure my object more fully,
I made arrangements for taking my meals
with her and the family at the same table.
From the first moment when she quitted
her bedroom in the morning till the last
when she withdrew to it at night, the
satchel never left its place upon her arm.

"Whatever has Mrs. Becket got in her
satchel?" I asked Mrs. Townshend one day,
in a careless tone.

"Oh, nothing!" she answered, evidently
believing what she said, "or a few pounds,
perhaps. That's where her madness is,
you know. She's as right as you are but
for that. You'd far better never mention
it to her, for she'd be fit to strangle you if
you did, for all she's so fond of you. I
ought to have told you before. She frightened
one of our ladies almost to death for
nothing but looking at it too close. There's
nothing at all in it; Mrs. Haddan of Haddan
Lodge says so; only it's her mania."

"But should not you like to know for
certain?" I asked.

"Oh, dear no! she replied, "I don't
care. I don't say but what I was curious
a bit at first, but then she's been here near
ten years, and I'm grown used to it. Besides,
I am sure there is nothing much in
it. It's too small to hold much, and it's
very flat-looking."

"Does she never let it off her arm?" I
said.

"Never that I know of," answered Mrs.
Townshend. "I daresay she sleeps with it
on her arm."

That was what I resolved to find out;
but how was it to be done? I was
friendly enough with Becket to follow her
up to her own room when she was there;
and she had admitted me inside it without
any reluctance. It was a very comfortable
attic, over the drawing-room, which had
an unusually large bay window at the end
of it. The attic opened upon the leads of
this bay, which formed a kind of balcony
before it, where she could go out at any
hour to look over the garden she was so
fond of. Some choice flowers in pots were
arranged upon it, and ivy and Virginian
creepers were trained about her window,
which opened inwards with two leaves like
folding doors. There was a blind to this
casement, but it was plainly to be seen that
it was seldom drawn down; in fact Becket
was a very early riser, and she did not need
it from any fear of being overlooked. The
fastening of the window was broken, and
she told me that when the wind blew
against that side of the house she was
obliged to set a chair against it to keep it
closed. I had paid very little heed to these
details at first, but now they recurred
vividly to my memory, as offering me helps
towards the fulfilment of my purpose.

I complained of headache, and went
early to bed, locking my sitting-room door
upon myself, as it was my custom to do.
Then I dressed myself in a warm, dark
dress, and threw over me a large black
cloak; for it was possible that I should
have to spend the whole night out of doors,
but it was already hot summer weather,
and I did not dread that. As soon as it
was dusk, but before any of the household
were come up-stairs, I glided noiselessly out
of my own room, and locked the door behind
me, carrying away the key. If anybody
should knock there, however loudly,
they could only come to the conclusion
that I was soundly asleep in the bedroom
beyond, to which there was no access except
through the sitting-room. I made my way
as cautiously as I could through the darkness
to the attic floor, and passed through
Becket's room to the leads beyond. I
knew that the gardener, who had been
trimming the creepers, had left his long
ladder just in the angle of the bay, and that
the highest step was no more than a foot
below the leads; so that if I could not
return through the room, a retreat was
still open for me into the garden. The
greatest risk I ran was that Becket might
step out herself to glance over the garden
lying below in the darkness; but I had
taken careful notice of a wooden rain-pipe
fully six inches square, which with the
thick creepers clustering about it formed
a dark recess, where I could very well hide
in my black cloak, and brave the keen
search of her eyes.

The night came on with profound gloom,
and with dense masses of thunder clouds
moving heavily across the heavens. All
below me lay in thick darkness, and I could
scarcely discern the dusky boughs of the
trees against the ebony sky. The birds
were silent, but for a sleepy twitter now
and then, but the moan from the city
was louder and more continuous, sadder
and more solemn in the night, A few
large drops of rain fell, splashing noisily