CHAPTER XVI.
Dalrymple wrapped his cloak about him once more, as he turned away, and retraced his steps by the garden wall. He glanced at the long dark thing that lay in the shadow of the postern, as he went by. It was not probable that it would be noticed, even if any one should pass that way, which was unlikely, between ten o'clock at night and three in the morning. He went on without stopping, and in three or four minutes he had gone round the convent to the main entrance, next to the church. He rang the bell. The portress was expecting him, and he was admitted without a word.
He found Maria Addolorata in the antechamber of the abbess's apartment, veiled, and standing with folded hands in the middle of the little hall. She must have heard the distant clang of the bell, for she was evidently waiting for him.
"Am I in time?" he asked in a tone of anxiety.
She shook her head slowly.
"Is she dead?"
"She was dead before I sent for you," answered Maria Addolorata, in a low and almost solemn tone. "No one knows it yet."
"I feared so," said Dalrymple.