The car was going slowly; it was easy to board it now, but again the tinkle of the bell indicated that it was stopping at the corner of a road beyond.

He checked his pace,--a lady alighted,--it was she! She turned into the cross-street, darkened with the shadows of some low suburban tenement houses, and he boldly followed.

He was fully determined to find out her secret, and even, if necessary, to accost her for that purpose.

He was perfectly aware what he was doing, and all its risks and penalties; he knew the audacity of such an introduction, but he felt in his left-hand pocket for the sprig of fern which was an excuse for it; he knew the danger of following a possible confidante of desperadoes, but he felt in his right-hand pocket for the derringer that was equal to it.

They were both there; he was ready.
He was nearing the convent and the oldest and most ruinous part of the town.