Not there! Then I looked in all the other rooms of the house, with an ever-growing fear chilling my heart.

Finally, I came to the hall door and found it open.
It was not wide open, but the catch of the lock had not caught.

The people of the house are careful to lock the door every night, so I feared that Lucy must have gone out as she was.

There was no time to think of what might happen.

A vague over-mastering fear obscured all details.
I took a big, heavy shawl and ran out.