A strong person might have bent it with a hammer, but he
could not have broken it. She examined the windows in the other
rooms and they were of the same structure.
"They are made like that," she said to herself stonily, "to prevent
people from getting OUT."
She stood at the front one and looked down into the broad, stately
"Place." It was a long way to look down, and, even if the window
could be opened, one's voice would not be heard. The street
lamps were lighted and a few people were to be seen walking past
unhurriedly.
"In the big house almost opposite they are going to give a party.
There is a red carpet rolled out. Carriages are beginning to drive
up. And here on the top floor, there is a girl locked up--And they
don't know!"
She said it aloud, and her voice sounded as though it were not her
own. It was a dreadful voice, and, as she heard it, panic seized
her.
Nobody knew--nobody! Her mother never either knew or cared where
she was, but Dowie and Mademoiselle always knew. They would be
terrified. Fraulein Hirsch had, perhaps, been told that her pupil
had taken a cab and gone home and she would return to her lodgings
thinking she was safe.
Then--only at this moment, and with a suddenness which produced a
sense of shock--she recalled that it was Fraulein Hirsch who had
presented her to Lady Etynge. Fraulein Hirsch herself! It was she
who had said she had been in her employ and had taught Helene--Helene!
It was she who had related anecdotes about the Convent at Tours
and the nuns who were so wise and kind! Robin's hand went up to
her forehead with a panic-stricken gesture.
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