"Do you know what they are?" he cried.
"I've seen them before," she said, "on such a night as this. They're footprints. Someone has been crossing the marsh." Horror crept over her, but before she could frame a question, he had jerked his hand in the direction of Quaking Hag.
"The fence is broken," he said, "there are gaps in it. Does Lucy know the place?"
"What do you mean, Joel? What has happened? You said Lucy had gone home."
"She ran away and left me. I don't know where she went: I don't know what's become of her. No doubt she's safe at home."
Barbara uttered no cry, no word of anguish or condemnation. She stood for a moment as though frozen, then turned to the man beside her.
"God forgive you! Some ill may have happened to Lucy! Go to the inn," she said. "Go at once. Tell every one to follow me to Quaking Hag."
He hesitated.
"Go," she cried. "Why do you stand there as if you hadn't heard? You're sober enough to know what may have happened."
"I'll help you to look for her," he doggedly replied.