To seize her husband at home, therefore, might be no impossible task; though here, in the heart of the village, a troop of horse might make the attempt, and fail.
But how was I to gain admission to the house--a house guarded by quick-witted women, and fenced with all the precautions love could devise?
That was the question; and dawn found me still debating it, still as far as ever from an answer.

Anxious and feverish, I was glad when the light came, and I could get up.

I thought that the fresh air might inspire me, and I was tired of my stuffy closet.

I crept stealthily down the ladder, and managed to pass unseen through the lower room, in which several persons were snoring heavily.

The outer door was not fastened, and in a hand-turn I was in the street.
It was still so early that the trees stood up black against the reddening sky, but the bough upon the post before the door was growing green, and in a few minutes the grey light would be everywhere.