Perplexed with these circumstances, and wondering at the return of Munro at an hour something unusual—­prompted too by a presentiment of something wrong, and apprehensive on the score of Ralph’s safety—­a curiosity not, surely, under these circumstances, discreditable, to know what was going on, determined her to ascertain something more of the character of the nocturnal visitation.  She felt secured from the strangeness of the occurrence, that evil was afoot, and solicitous for its prevention, she was persuaded to the measure solely with the view to good.

Hastily, but with trembling hands, undoing the door of her apartment, she made her way into the long, dark gallery, with which she was perfectly familiar, and soon gained the apartment already referred to.  The door fortunately stood nearly closed, and she successfully passed it by and gained the hall, which immediately adjoined, and lay in perfect darkness.  Without herself being seen, she was enabled, through a crevice in the partition dividing the two rooms, to survey its inmates, and to hear distinctly everything that was uttered.

As she expected, there were the two conspirators, Rivers and Munro, earnestly engaged in discourse; to which, as it concerns materially our progress, we may well be permitted to lend our attention.  They spoke on a variety of topics entirely foreign to the understanding of the half-affrighted and nervously-susceptible, but still resolute young girl who heard them; and nothing but her deep anxieties for one, whose own importance in her eyes at that moment she did not conjecture, could have sustained her while listening to a dialogue full of atrocious intention, and larded throughout with a familiar and sometimes foul phraseology that certainly was not altogether unseemly in such association.

“Well, Blundell’s gone too, they say.  He’s heartily frightened.  A few more will follow, and we must both be out of the way.  The rest could not well be identified, and whether they are or not does not concern us, except that they may blab of their confederates.  Such as seem likely to suffer detection must be frightened off; and this, by the way, is not so difficult a matter.  Pippin knows nothing of himself.  Forrester is too much involved to be forward.  It was for this that I aroused and set him on.  His hot blood took fire at some little hints that I threw out, and the fool became a leader in the mischief.  There’s no danger from him; besides, they say, he’s off too.  Old Allen has broken off the match between him and his daughter, and the fellow’s almost mad on the strength of it.  There’s but one left who might trouble us, and it is now understood that but one mode offers for his silence.  We are perfectly agreed as to this, and no more scruples.”

The quick sense of the maiden readily taught her who was meant; and her heart trembled convulsively within her, as, with a word, Munro, replying to Rivers, gave his assent.