Herbert, enrolled¹ in the same section with his employer and one or two fellow-clerks, had participated in the meetings of the committee with the light-heartedness and irresponsibility of youth, regretting only the loss of his usual walk with Cherry and the hours that kept him from her house. He was returning from a protracted² meeting one night, when the number of arrests and searching for proscribed³ and suspected characters had been so large as to induce fears of organized resistance and rescue, and on reaching the foot of the hill found it already so late, that to avoid disturbing the family he resolved to enter his room directly by the door in the side street. On inserting his key in the lock it met with some resisting obstacle, which, however, yielded and apparently⁴ dropped on the mat inside. Opening the door and stepping into the perfectly⁵ dark apartment, he trod upon this object, which proved to be another key. The family must have procured⁶ it for their convenience during his absence, and after locking the door had carelessly left it in the lock. It was lucky that it had yielded so readily.