The sight of them made me glad to creep further up the steps that rounded a sharp corner, till I came as far as an iron wicket-gate, which seemed to cut off my retreat.

There I stopped, deeming that the wicket must be locked.

The men were now rowing the boat into the middle of the water, so, without expecting to find the gate open, I tried the handle.

It turned, to my no little amazement; the gate swang lightly aside, as if its hinges had been newly oiled, and I followed the staircase, creeping up the slimy steps in the half-dark.

Up and round I went, till I was wellnigh giddy, and then I tripped and reeled so that my body struck against a heavy ironed door.
Under my weight it yielded gently, and I stumbled across the threshold of a room that smelled strangely sweet and was very warm, being full of the sun, and the heat of a great fire.
"Is that you, Robin of my heart ?" said a girl's voice in French; and, before I could move, a pair of arms were round my neck.