Violet Jacob > Irresolute Catherine

A NIGHT OF STARS 45
too much for her slackened will. There
was no clock in the barn to tell her how
the hours went by, or how many lay between
her and to-morrow’s fate. It seemed that
everything had passed out of her control
and that she could only be still, a sad, help¬
less heap, her hands clasped round her knees
and her head bowed on the footboard of
the wooden bedstead. And this was the
eve of her wedding!
She did not know how long she had
stayed there when there was a sound out¬
side which made her sit upright to listen.
Before she could collect her wits, a smart,
short rap fell upon the door and a hand
passed over the outside of it as though
groping for the latch.
Despairing fear seized Catherine. She
did not move nor answer and her heart
bounded in her as though it would beat
her side to pieces. As the knock sounded
again she hid her face in her palms. When
she looked up the door was open, and a