ut my hand to thrust it through the aperture. Once inside, my hand would at
least be dry. How it rained out there! My scanty clothing was soaked; I was
wet to the skin! I was shivering. And, each second, it seemed to rain still
faster. My teeth were chattering. The damp was liquefying the very marrow in
my bones.
And, inside that open window, it was, it must be, so warm, so dry!
There was not a soul in sight. Not a human being anywhere near. I listened;
there was not a sound. I alone was at the mercy of the sodden night. Of all
God's creatures the only one unsheltered from the fountains of Heaven which
He had opened. There was not one to see what I might do; not one to care. I
need fear no spy. Perhaps the house was empty; nay, probably. It was my plain
duty to knock at the door, rouse the inmates, and call attention to their oversight,--the
open window. The least they could do would be to reward me for my pains. But,
suppose the place was empty, what would be the use of knocking? It would be
to make a
