Cathy moved slowly, for it was imperative for them to go silently and it was also difficult for Iona to keep within the small circle of light from the lantern. More than once she stumbled and it was with the utmost difficulty that she refrained from crying out on feeling herself fall forward into nothingness or bumping painfully against a wall or a piece of furniture.
At last after what seemed to her a very long time they reached the ground floor and entered a high, broad passage. Here the walls were unplastered and they walked on bare stone so that every movement they made, however cautious, seemed to echo and re-echo into the chilly darkness. Not speaking a word, Cathy went ahead on tiptoe until unexpectedly she stopped abruptly. A little way ahead of them the passage curved.
Cathy app
