Ultimately her eyes fell upon the ground.
A peculiarity was observable beneath her. A green field spread
itself on each side of the hedge, one belonging to the glebe, the
other being a part of the land attached to the manor-house
adjoining. On the vicarage side she saw a little footpath, the
distinctive and altogether exceptional feature of which consisted
in its being only about ten yards long; it terminated abruptly at
each end.
A footpath, suddenly beginning and suddenly ending, coming from
nowhere and leading nowhere, she had never seen before.
Yes, she had, on second thoughts. She had seen exactly such a
path trodden in the front of barracks by the sentry.
And this recollection explained the origin of the path here. Her
father had trodden it by pacing up and down, as she had once seen
him doing.
Sitting on the hedge as she sat now, her eyes commanded a view of
both sides of it. And a few minutes later, Elfride looked over to
the manor side.
Here was another sentry path. It was like the first in length,
and it began and ended exactly opposite the beginning and ending
of its neighbour, but it was thinner, and less distinct.
Two reasons existed for the difference. This one might have been
trodden by a similar weight of tread to the other, exercised a
less number of times; or it might have been walked just as
frequently, but by lighter feet.
Probably a gentleman from Scotland-yard, had he been passing at
the time, might have considered the latter alternative as the more
probable.
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