Blind Love

As she left the dressing-room, a measure of precaution occurred to her,

which she put in action at once. Telling her maid that she had some

purchases to make in the town, she went out, and asked her way to

Garvan of the first respectable stranger whom she met in the street.

Her object was to walk as far as the first milestone, in daylight, so

as to be sure of finding it again by night. She had made herself

familiar with the different objects on the road, when she returned to

the banker's house.

As the time for the arrest drew nearer, Sir Giles became too restless

to wait patiently at home. He went away to the police-office, eager to

hear if any new counter-conspiracy had occurred to the authorities.

It was dark soon after eight o'clock, at that time of the year. At nine

the servants assembled at the supper-table. They were all downstairs

together, talking, and waiting for their meal.

Feeling the necessity of arriving at the place of meeting, in time to

keep out of the Sergeant's way, Iris assumed her disguise as the clock

struck nine. She left the house without a living creature to notice

her, indoors or out. Clouds were gathering over the sky. The waning

moon was only to be seen at intervals, as she set forth on her way to

the milestone.

VI

The wind rose a little, and the rifts in the clouds began to grow

broader as Iris gained the high road.

For a while, the glimmer of the misty moonlight lit the way before her.

As well as she could guess, she had passed over more than half of the

distance between the town and the milestone before the sky darkened

again. Objects by the wayside grew shadowy and dim. A few drops of rain

began to fall. The milestone, as she knew--thanks to the discovery of

it made by daylight--was on the right-hand side of the road. But the

dull-grey colour of the stone was not easy to see in the dark.

A doubt troubled her whether she might not have passed the milestone.

She stopped and looked at the sky.

The threatening of rain had passed away: signs showed themselves which

seemed to promise another break in the clouds. She waited. Low and

faint, the sinking moonlight looked its last at the dull earth. In

front of her, there was nothing to be seen but the road. She looked

back--and discovered the milestone.

A rough stone wall protected the land on either side of the road.

Nearly behind the milestone there was a gap in this fence, partially

closed by a hurdle. A half-ruined culvert, arching a ditch that had run

dry, formed a bridge leading from the road to the field. Had the field

been already chosen as a place of concealment by the police? Nothing

was to be seen but a footpath, and the dusky line of a plantation

beyond it. As she made these discoveries, the rain began to fall again;

the clouds gathered once more; the moonlight vanished.