Good-night; Sally."
"Good-night," said Sally, drowsily. "I'll go after you."
Before the kitchen clock struck nine, sleep had sealed the eyelids of
Mrs. Oleander and her servants more tightly than they were ever sealed
before. And out in the yard, stiff and stark, lay Nero and Tiger. They
had eaten the poisoned beef, and, like faithful sentinels, were dead at
their posts.
CHAPTER XXII.
A MOONLIGHT FLITTING.
The big Dutch clock on the kitchen mantel struck nine. The silence of
the grave reigned within the house. With the first clear chime Mrs.
Susan Sharpe rose from the bed on which she had thrown herself, dressed
and prepared for action.
She drew the curtain and looked out. The night was celestial. A
brilliant, full moon flooded the dark earth and purple sea with silvery
radiance; the sky was cloudless--blue as Mollie Dane's eyes, the stars
beyond number, big and bright.
A faint sea-breeze just stirred the swaying trees; the surf broke in a
dull, monotonous wash on the shining strand; even the dreary Long Island
farmhouse and its desolate surroundings were transfigured and glorified
by the radiant moonlight.
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