For all answer Mrs. Bowers caught her by the arm and rudely dragged her along the hall to the front door. "You can't deceive me with your trumped up lies, you shameless thing!" she said. "Go now, and never let me see your face here again." She opened the door and pushing the poor, weeping, betrayed and deserted girl out into the blinding storm, slammed and locked the door. CHAPTER XVIII. Over the broad, dark river, and the snow-covered earth the cold winter moonlight lay in great, silvery bars of light. The terrible snowstorm of two days before was over. The sky was clear and starry, and no trace remained of the storm save the deep, white carpeting of the beautiful snow. Midnight was tolling from the great bell in the city, but Queenie Ernscliffe sat at her window staring out at the night with wide, sleepless eyes. On a couch at the opposite side of the room lay Mrs. Bowers snoring audibly. She had slept in Queenie's room ever since the night she had effected her escape and her constant vigilance had entirely frustrated any other attempt of the kind. While Jennie Thorn had been dwelling in her Fool's Paradise, our heroine had been suffering all the horrors of imprisonment and despair. She had heard very little of the farmer's pretty daughter since the day she came to live there, but she knew she had remained with them, for she had seen her a few times walking in the garden beneath her window, prettily, even richly dressed, and she knew too well what that meant. She felt very sorry for the poor girl who had been so deaf to her words of friendly warning. Queenie was sadly altered for the worse since these long months of imprisonment and wretchedness. Her garments hung loosely about her attenuated form, her cheeks were thin and hollow, and her once bright eyes were dim with weeping, and looked too wild and large for her small, pathetic, white face. Her days and nights were passed in sleepless wretchedness, much to the annoyance of the housekeeper, who declared that she could not rest well while her refractory charge kept the light burning as she did the long nights through, for she could not bear to have darkness add its additional gloom to the horror of her thoughts. While she sat and stared wearily out at the midnight scene, the housekeeper snored herself awake and began to complain. "Mercy's sake, girl, go to bed, and put the light out. I declare I cannot sleep a wink with the gas shining in my eyes!" "You have been _snoring_ uninterruptedly for several hours!" answered Queenie, coldly. "How do you suppose I can sleep when you keep up such a noise with your breathing?" "Well, I never!" exclaimed Mrs. Bowers. "This is the first time I was ever accused of snoring!" Queenie did not speak for a moment. Presently she turned her head around and said, abruptly: "Mrs. Bowers!" Mrs. Bowers, who was falling asleep again, gave a grunt in token that she heard.