SeventeenMary quietly tiptoed down the rickety, wooden stairs of her family home, carefully feeling her way with one hand on the wall and the other on the railing. It was the middle of a very cold and moonless night, and she was being careful not to awaken her family. With thoughts of their impending emigration to New York in just a few short weeks, she could not sleep.
At the bottom of the staircase, Mary turned to her right and headed into the dining room. With no moonlight shining in through the window, the room was quite dark, and it took several minutes for her eyes to adjust to the small amount of light coming from the remaining embers in the fireplace.
When she reached the fireplace, she carefully felt along its mantle for the lantern she knew she would find. Then she searched for
