March , now . '' Anne marched . That is , she stumbled over the bridge and went shuddering up the horrible dim path beyond . Anne never forgot that walk . Bitterly did she repent the license she had given to her imagination . The goblins of her fancy lurked in every shadow about her , reaching out their cold , fleshless hands to grasp the terrified small girl who had called them into being . A white strip of birch bark blowing up from the hollow over the brown floor of the grove made her heart stand still . The long-drawn wail of two old boughs rubbing against each other brought out the perspiration in beads on her forehead . The swoop of bats in the darkness over her was as the wings of unearthly creatures . When she reached Mr. William Bell 's field she fled across it as if pursued by an army of white things , and arrived at the Barry kitchen door so out of breath that she could hardly gasp out her request for the apron pattern . Diana was away so that she had no excuse to linger . The dreadful return journey had to be faced . Anne went back over it with shut eyes , preferring to take the risk of dashing her brains out among the boughs to that of seeing a white thing . When she finally stumbled over the log bridge she drew one long shivering breath of relief . `` Well , so nothing caught you ? '' said Marilla unsympathetically . `` Oh , Mar -- Marilla , '' chattered Anne , `` I 'll b-b-be contt-tented with c-c-commonplace places after this . '' CHAPTER XXI . A New Departure in Flavorings `` Dear me , there is nothing but meetings and partings in this world , as Mrs. Lynde says , '' remarked Anne plaintively , putting her slate and books down on the kitchen table on the last day of June and wiping her red eyes with a very damp handkerchief . `` Was n't it fortunate , Marilla , that I took an extra handkerchief to school today ?
I had a presentiment XXXXX it would be needed . ''
about across against as beyond from in of that with