I dared not strike a match because of the sharp, rasping noise it would
make, and I had to be as cautious as if I were treading with bare feet
on glass, although I knew that Maxine was praying for me to be out of
the house, and I was as far from wishing to linger as she was to have me
stay. Only by a miracle did I save myself once or twice from upsetting a
chair or a tall vase of flowers, on my way to a second door which was
locked on the other side. At last, however, I discovered a window, and
congratulated myself that my trouble and Maxine's danger was nearly
over. The room being on the ground floor, though rather high above the
level of the garden, I thought that I could easily let myself down. But
when I had slipped behind the heavy curtains (they were drawn, and felt
smooth, like satin) it was only to come upon a new difficulty.
The window, which opened in the middle like most French windows, was
tightly closed, with the catch securely fastened; and as I began slowly
and with infinite caution to turn the handle, I felt that the window was
going to stick. Perhaps the wood had been freshly painted: perhaps it
had swelled; in any case I knew that when the two sashes consented to
part they would make a loud protest.
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