_They moved a little_--then of a sudden,
without any further effort on her part, swung round as high as the knees
where drapery hung, concealing the join in them. Yes, they swung round,
revealing the head of a stair, up which blew a cold wind that it was
sweet to breathe.
Benita rose, gasping. Then she seized her lantern and ran to the little
tent where her father lay.
XXII
THE VOICE OF THE LIVING
Mr. Clifford was awake again now.
"Where have you been?" he asked querulously in a thin voice. "I wanted
you." Then as the light from the candle shone upon it, he noted the
change that had come over her pale face, and added: "What has happened?
Is Meyer dead? Are we free?"
Benita shook her head. "He was alive a few hours ago, for I could hear
him raving and shouting outside the wall we built. But, father, it has
all come back to me; I believe that I have found it."
"What has come back? What have you found? Are you mad, too, like Jacob?"
"What something told me when I was in the trance which afterwards I
forgot, but now remember. And I have found the passage which leads to
where they hid the gold. It begins behind the crucifix, where no one
ever thought of looking."
This matter of the gold did not seem to interest Mr. Clifford.
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