Then amongst the hubbub and general disorder Clarinda noticed a tall figure staggering drunkenly amongst the tables and coming, it seemed, directly towards her. She noticed he was carrying in his hands several bottles, occasionally lifting one unsteadily to his lips and yet never relinquishing the bottles themselves as if greedily he wished to imbibe more than anyone else.
He tripped against the step immediately in front of her and nervously she shrank back in her chair, afraid that he might fall upon her. As she did so, she heard a voice she knew say very softly,
“Be ready to run.”
For a moment she could hardly believe that she was not imagining the words. Then she knew with a sudden leap in her heart that her prayers had been answered.
Lord Melburne was here! He had actually entered
