feat, and sometimes the wild beating of her frightened heart made her feel that she must just drop in the grass where she was and give it up. Besides her whole body was trembling with weariness and excitement of the long, hard day, and her nerves were spent. Big tears welled into her eyes and dropped into the grass but she was unaware of them. Only her will kept her moving or held her back when she would have jumped to her feet and run screaming from the place; only her sense that God was near somewhere and would help her, kept her mind steady enough to direct her movements. And sometimes, as she moved inch by inch away from the direct line of the men it seemed so slow, so impossible that she could ever get away that she almost fell down.

She had crawled thus on hands and knees some twenty feet, and was just considering the wisdom of turning her course a little farther to the left before striking toward the[39] road, when suddenly she heard a low murmur among the men and glancing back saw that they had shouldered their implements and were about to start away.

[39]

Fear overcame her and made her forget caution, and she lifted one hand with a sudden movement to hasten, grasping the handbag tightly and once more the tinkling chains, slipping from between her tired fingers, struck against a headstone and gave forth a weird little sound.

Instantly there was silence for the space of about a second, the four men frozen into attention. Then stealthily, his body ducked low, one of them crouched and came forward. Almost silently he came, but she knew he was coming straight toward her. She was paralyzed with fear. She felt she could not move another fraction of an inch, could not any longer hold on to that cold, smooth stone she had grasped, could not draw herself out of sight behind a marble shaft that loomed benevolently close at hand. Then the realization that in a moment more he would be upon her gave strength to her weakness. Who knew what desperate criminals these might be? Grave robbers would not hesitate to dig a new grave and hide a victim in it where no one would ever suspect. Whatever they had been doing it was evident they did not wish it known, and it would go hard with any one who might be feared as an eavesdropper. The thought gave wings to her feet as she stumbled up and flew away in the darkness among the shadowy grave stones, out toward the road.

It seemed miles she darted among those stones, as noiselessly as possibly, but blindly, for it was dark, so dark, and the little spot of light chased her 

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