Roanoke of Roanoke Hall: A Romance — page 68: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

62 Roanoke of Roanoke Hall. : house. My object was to go downwards, but as I heard overhead the voice that had before attracted me, I determined to avail myself of the means presented to me of pro- _ curing an interview with its owner. Fearing to alarm her by my unexpected appearance, I walked with as much noise as I could up the resounding spiral. At the sound of my first step the song ceased on a sudden, and had not been resumed when I issued into the fresh air and sunshine upon the very roof of the house. My warning had been of more effect than I had intended, for the singer had disappeared, though by what method she had managed her escape I was unable to find out. The stone-paved terrace that formed the roof ran uninterruptedly round all four sides of the house, protected on the outer side by a strong wall some six feet high, broken at every few paces by narrow embrasures, while, within, a lower wall fenced it from the yawh- ing grave, for so seemed the courtyard in its depth and narrowness. I could perceive at the first glance that there was no occupant of this cramped path- comichooks.com