By following this line with her eyes, she soon discovered the
point whence she had seen the mysterious dwelling, and directly opposite
to that point she well knew the hut must stand.
The chilling air sighed through the leafless branches of the gnarled and
crooked oaks, as with a step so light as hardly to rustle the dry leaves
on which she trod, Frances moved forward to that part of the hill where
she expected to find this secluded habitation; but nothing could she
discern that in the least resembled a dwelling of any sort. In vain she
examined every recess of the rocks, or inquisitively explored every part
of the summit that she thought could hold the tenement of the peddler.
No hut, nor any vestige of a human being could she trace. The idea of
her solitude struck on the terrified mind of the affrighted girl, and
approaching to the edge of a shelving rock, she bent forward to gaze on
the signs of life in the vale, when a ray of keen light dazzled her
eyes, and a warm ray diffused itself over her whole frame. Recovering
from her surprise, Frances looked on the ledge beneath her, and at once
perceived that she stood directly over the object of her search. A hole
through its roof afforded a passage to the smoke, which, as it blew
aside, showed her a clear and cheerful fire crackling and snapping on a
rude hearth of stone.
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