A sigh! That meant a person.

Striking a match, she looked eagerly down the hall.

Something was moving between the two walls.
But when she tried to determine its character, it was swallowed up in darkness,--the match had gone out.

Anxious for the child and determined to go her way to the kitchen, she now felt about for the gas-fixture and succeeded in lighting up.

The whole hall again burst into view but the thing was no longer there; the space was absolutely empty.