No word was uttered, or if so, it was whispered so low that it
did not reach me. For nearly five minutes I waited in impatience
outside that closed door, until again the handle turned and my
conductress beckoned me in silence within.
I stepped into a small, square chamber, the floor of which was carpeted,
and where, suspended high above, was a lamp that shed but a faint light
over the barely-furnished place. It seemed to me to be a kind of
sitting-room, with a plain deal table and a couple of chairs, but there
was no stove, and the place looked chill and comfortless. Beyond was
another smaller room into which the old nun disappeared for a moment;
then she came forth leading a strange wan little figure in a gray gown,
a figure whose face was the most perfect and most lovely I had ever
seen. Her wealth of chestnut hair fell disheveled about her shoulders,
and as her hands were clasped before her she looked straight at me in
surprise as she was led towards me.
She walked but feebly, and her countenance was deathly pale.
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