In the frigid silence under the wintry moon, the motionless, recumbent poles, stiffened, as it were, with sleep and cold, recalled the corpses of the old cemetery.

The young man cast but a rapid glance round the empty space; there was not a creature, not a sound, no danger of being seen or heard.

The black patches at the further end caused him more anxiety, but after a brief examination he plucked up courage and hurriedly crossed the wood-yard.
As soon as he felt himself under cover he slackened his pace.

He was now in the green pathway skirting the wall behind the piles of planks.

Here his very footsteps became inaudible; the frozen grass scarcely crackled under his tread.