"
This arrangement having been carried with speedy effect, I returned to
my own chamber after a close scrutiny of Mrs. Clayton's condition, and
employed myself at once in running my penknife around the door concealed
by my bed-head, and thus loosening the paper, pasted on cotton cloth,
that covered it, from that of the wall, with which it was connected so
intimately as to make the whole surface within the chamber seem to form
one partition.
Long before this I had cut that which surrounded the lock, so that it
lay like a flap, over it, fastened down lightly, however, with
gum-arabic (part of Ernie's draught for a catarrh), so as to baffle
slight inspection. My heart beat wildly as, after having effected this
preliminary step, I cautiously unlocked the door, which, for aught I
knew, might be, like that of Mrs. Clayton's closet, bolted without, so
as to frustrate all my efforts. It opened outwardly, and could have been
readily so secured.
In the great providence of God, it was not bolted. I sank on my knees,
weak and prayerful, I remember, as the door swung slightly back,
revealing the platform beyond, and the short stair that led from it up
to the second story. The hinges creaked a little, and these I hastened
to oil; then closing and relocking the door softly, I crept (without
pushing my bedstead back again the few inches I had wheeled it forward)
to look once more upon the sleeping face of Mrs.
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