"Broke the lock?"

"No. Used a duplicate key. To-day I heard there was a man here last
night. I want to nose around a little."

Sinton went to the east end of the cabin and looked up at the window.
There was no way any one could have reached it without a ladder, for the
logs were hewed and mortar filled the cracks even. Then he went to the
west end, the willow faced him as he turned the corner. He examined the
trunk carefully. There was no mistake about small particles of black
swamp muck adhering to the sides of the tree. He reached the low
branches and climbed the willow. There was earth on the large limb
crossing Elnora's window. He stood on it, holding the branch as had
been done the night before, and looked into the room. He could see very
little, but he knew that if it had been dark outside and sufficiently
light for Elnora to study inside he could have seen vividly. He brought
his face close to the netting, and he could see the bed with its head
to the east, at its foot the table with the candles and the chair before
it, and then he knew where the man had been who had heard Elnora's
prayer.

Mrs. Comstock had followed around the corner and stood watching him.
"Do you think some slinking hulk was up there peekin' in at Elnora?" she
demanded indignantly.

"There is muck on the trunk, and plenty on the limb," said Sinton.
"Hadn't you better get a saw and let me take this branch off?"

"No, I hadn't," said Mrs. Comstock. "First place, Elnora's climbed from
that window on that limb all her life, and it's hers. Second place, no