THE SILVER FOX 99 



sound on tlie terrace, under her open window, 

 made her lift her head and listen. 



The sound came and went, and Slaney 

 was roused to put aside the curtains and 

 look down. There was nothing to be seen 

 but the fog that had risen out of the sea 

 and settled on the land, with frost and 

 moonlight blended in its whiteness ; all the 

 world neemed arrested and tranced, all the 

 air charged with its cold and mysterious 

 p)eseiice. 



"It was a rabbit," she said to herself, and 

 instantly, as if to contradict her, a black- 

 and-grey collie passed quickly under the 

 window, with its nose down as if running 

 a trail. 



