Thus, then, she had seated herself by
the window, and Minnie had taken her place on the opposite side, and
the two sisters, with clasped hands, sat listening to the voices of
the night.
At length they became aware of a movement upon the bank just above
them and lying opposite. The sisters clasped one another's hands more
closely, and peered earnestly through the gloom. It was pretty dark,
and the forest threw down a heavy shadow, but still their eyes were by
this time accustomed to the dark, and they could distinguish most of
the objects there. Among these they soon distinguished a moving
figure; but what it was, whether man or beast, they could not make
out.
This moving figure was crawling down the bank. There was no cover to
afford concealment, and it was evident that he was trusting altogether
to the concealment of the darkness. It was a hazardous experiment, and
Mrs. Willoughby trembled in suspense.
Minnie, however, did not tremble at all, nor was the suspense at all
painful. When Mrs. Willoughby first cautiously directed her attention
to it in a whisper, Minnie thought it was some animal.
"Why, Kitty dear," she said, speaking back in a whisper, "why, it's an
animal; I wonder if the creature is a wild beast. I'm sure I think
it's very dangerous, and no doors or windows. But it's _always_ the
way. He wouldn't give me a chair; and so I dare say I shall be eaten
up by a bear before morning."
Minnie gave utterance to this expectation without the slightest
excitement, just as though the prospect of becoming food for a bear
was one of the very commonest incidents of her life.
Pages:
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294