It held fast, and she swung free from the sill, which now she could never again regain.

She clung desperately, blindly, swung out; then felt the roots of the ivy above her rip free, one after another, far up, almost to the cornice.

Its whole thin ladder broke free from the wall.

She was flung into space.

Almost at that instant, her foot touched the light lattice of the lower story.