No answer.
“Freder—!”
Nothing.
But suddenly there came a cool draught of air which made the hair at her neck quiver, and a hand of snow ran down her back.
There came an agonized sigh—a sigh which would not come to an end....
The girl stood still. The bright little lamp which she held in her hand let its gleam play tremblingly about her feet.
“Freder...?”
Now her voice, too, was only a whisper.
No answer. But, behind her, in the depths of the passage she would have to pass through, a gentle, gliding slink became perceptible: feet in soft shoes on rough stones....
That was ... yes, that was strange. Nobody, apart from her, ever came this way. Nobody could be here. And, if somebody were here, then it was no friend....