She waited till her heart quieted, and again crept to the door.
The head of the woman on the bunk had fallen towards the wall as in deep sleep; it was turned from the billy, to which she must creep so softly.
Slower, from caution and deadly earnestness, she entered.
She was not so advanced as before, and felt fairly secure, for the woman's eyes were still turned to the wall, and so tightly closed she could not possibly see where she was.
She would bend right down, and try and reach it from where she was.
She bent.
It was so swift and sudden, that she had not time to scream when those bony fingers had gripped the hand that she prematurely reached for the billy. She was frozen with horror for a moment, then her screams were piercing. Panting with victory, the prostrate one held her with a hold that the other did not attempt to free herself from.
Down, down she drew her.
Her lips had drawn back from her teeth, and her breath almost scorched the face that she
