“Yes—I know her,” I answered hoarsely. “Do you think you could tell her that there is help coming, without running any risk yourself?”
“I’ll try, Jack. I’ll do my best. Oh, I knew you’d come if I kept on hoping and believing. It’s been terrible. But I shan’t be afraid any more, now I know you’ve found me. Only, hurry, Jack, won’t you?”
“I’ll hurry, darling, be sure of that. But act just as usual, won’t you, dear? Don’t give them any warning, by your manner, that there is anything up. And don’t let Miss Van Cleef change her manner either, if you get a chance to talk with her. A lot depends on that, dear. We must not warn them.”
“I’ll be careful, Jack. Are you going now?” There was a little break in her voice that nearly made me break down. But I knew that the only hope was to get away and bring help. I could not rescue her alone, without any idea of my whereabouts or how to get out of the place. And I was afraid of making things still harder for her if I tried anything like that.
So with a last few words to hearten her and a sobbed little farewell in response, I turned away from the door and retraced my steps cautiously, feeling along the walls until I reached the lighted hall again. I was filled with joy at the unexpected stroke of luck in finding Margaret so soon. The nightmare of uncertainty about her was over at last, although the task of freeing her remained.
There was nothing for it now but to try all the doors. But the one nearest me was the other larger door, and in passing I tried the handle again. The door was unlocked!
I could have sworn that it was locked when I tried it before, but it was possible that some one had passed through it since and left it unlocked, or that I had not turned the handle far enough before.
Anyway it was open now, and I crept through, testing the floor before me with a questing foot. Here, too, there was complete darkness. And I was in another passage similar to the other.
Both the larger doors out of the hall were in a corner of the hall farthest from the banqueting room. But they were in different walls and consequently were at right angles to each other. This passage, too, extended straight ahead, so that I was going at right angles to my previous course and farther from Margaret at every step. But whither it was leading me I could not tell.
This passage differed from the other one. For as I crept along my fingers encountered more than one door. I tried them all and found all of them locked; so that, for the present, I determined to follow the passage to the end, as the easiest course, as there was no choice among the doors.