I thought he was talking for the sake of talking--to keep up our spirits--and I did not attend much to him; so that he had not reached the gist of it, or at least I had not grasped it, when a noise without stayed his tongue.

It was the tramp of footsteps, apparently of a large party in the street.

It forced him to break off, and promptly drove us all to our posts.
But before we separated a slight figure, hardly noticeable in that dim, uncertain light, passed me quickly, laying for an instant a soft hand in mine as I stood waiting by the gates.

I have said I scarcely saw the figure, though I did see the kind timid eyes, and the pale cheeks under the hood; but I bent over the hand and kissed it, and felt, truth to tell, no more regret nor doubt where our duty lay.

But stood, waiting patiently..