Mildred laughed shortly, and threw back her hair with a scornful gesture: "Not she, indeed! She would be far more afraid of me than I should be of her. But what is to be done, Lady Sarah? We must do something quickly; there is no time to be lost. Shall I go and waken Bertha--the servants--Miss Turner?" "A lot of nervous women! What good would they do? They would go off into hysterics, and give the alarm before you could get downstairs. And if you went down, what could you do, children and girls as you are, against old practised hands? Cecile has never planned this by herself. There are two or three men downstairs, she let out as much in her anger. If you could find James..." Lady Sarah broke off, and stared into the girl's face with her haggard eyes. It was an intent, questioning gaze, but the girl did not shrink before it. She nodded her head gravely, as if recognising the force of the suggestion, and accepting the responsibility which it thrust upon her, for James's room was cut off from the rest of the house, and to reach it it was necessary to descend to the ground floor, and go along the whole length of the passage leading to the servants' hall. "Yes, of course; James would be the best!" "You know where he sleeps?" "Yes, I know." Lady Sarah leant her head against the pillow, trembling violently. "You would have to go downstairs, to pass within a few yards of the strong-room door--they might see you--and if they did?--No, no! I cannot let you go. Poor child, poor child! Your safety is of more value than anything they can take. It is too great a risk." "Dear Lady Sarah, I am not afraid. I will creep along so quietly that they will never hear me, and once down, it will not take me a minute to run along the passage. Don't try to prevent me, I must go--I must! I couldn't stay quietly here while Mrs Faucit was being robbed. See! here is the key, Cecile left it in the lock. Get up and fasten yourself in, and don't open the door until I come back. You won't be nervous?" "Not for myself--no, no!--but for you, Mildred. No, you shall not go, I will not allow it! Your mother--" "Mother would go herself. She is the bravest little creature in the world. I am not afraid. If they see me I will make a dash for it, and scream at the pitch of my voice. You will hear, the others will hear, the whole house will be in a tumult, and they will be glad to escape and let me alone. But I want to take them by surprise, and not let them get away. I'm going now. There is not a minute to waste. Be careful how you shut the door. Don't be frightened. If you hear no noise you will know all is well."