She had decided, and yet she was not at ease; she was not quite
sure of having fairly questioned her conscience yet. What if she
laid the letter-case on the table again, and waited until her
excitement had all cooled down, and then put the contemplated
project soberly on its trial before her own sense of right and
wrong?
She thought once--and hesitated. Before she could think twice,
the distant tramp of marching footsteps and the distant clatter
of horses' hoofs were wafted to her on the night air. The Germans
were entering the village! In a few minutes more they would
appear in the cottage; they would summon her to give an account
of herself. There was no time for waiting until she was composed
again. Which should it be--the new life, as Grace Roseberry? or
the old life, as Mercy Merrick?
She looked for the last time at the bed. Grace's course was run;
Grace's future was at her disposal. Her resolute nature, forced
to a choice on the instant, held by the daring alternative. She
persisted in the determination to take Grace's place.
The tramping footsteps of the Germans came nearer and nearer. The
voices of the officers were audible, giving the words of command.
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