Yet no other sound came from that mysterious presence.

Intently as I listened, not so much as the faint sound of breathing reached me.
Still I could not have been deceived; there assuredly had been movement; I distinctly felt a consciousness of other presence, so that every nerve tingled, and it required the utmost self-control to hold me still.

I fairly throbbed with insane impulses to leap forward and solve the mystery.
Who could be lurking there in such silence?
It must assuredly be an enemy, a guard stationed to watch over the fair prisoner within; doubtless, he would remain until relieved by some other.

What hope for successful advance held me in such agony of mind and body?
I felt that I must relieve my cramped limbs or else scream aloud in spite of every effort at control.

Slowly I drew back, my outspread hands searching for some hummock of grass against which I might press, to force my body silently downward, but discovered none.