Up and down past the house she paced under cover of the darkness. As she paced slowly to the other end of the street, a coach stopped before the house she was so intently watching.
Before she could reach a place where she could get a full view, Royal Ainsley, with one or two others—she could not tell whether they were men or women—ran lightly down the steps and entered the vehicle, which rolled rapidly away.
"I have missed him!" sobbed Ida May. "God help me!"
On the morrow, Ida May was so ill that she could not leave the little room to which she had come for temporary shelter.
The woman who kept the place took a great interest in her.
But every night, as soon as dusk had fallen, Ida May took up her lonely vigil before the house Royal Ainsley had visited.
In her anxiety she did not notice that she had been observed from an upper window by the mistress of the mansion. One night she found herself suddenly confronted by that lady.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, grasping her by the shoulder. "Speak at once!"
For a moment Ida May was so taken aback that she could not utter a sound.
"Answer me at once, or I will have you arrested!" repeated the lady.