Right or wrong, I knew she held me captive; even there, groping blindly in that darkness, every nerve strained to its utmost, my thought was with her, and her face arose before my imagination.

Unexpectedly, unexplainably love had come into my life--the very love I had laughed at in others had made me captive.
And I was glad of it, reckless still as to what it might portend.
I counted twelve rungs going down, and then felt stone flags beneath my feet, although the walls on either side, as I explored them with my hands, were still of closely matched wood.

The passage, now high enough to permit of my standing erect, led toward the rear of the house, presenting no obstacle other than darkness, until I came up suddenly against a heavy wooden door completely barring further progress.

As near as I could figure I must be already directly beneath the kitchen, and close in against the south wall.

No sound reached me, however, from above, nor could I, with ear against the slight crack, distinguish any movement beyond the barrier.