Sentence:  At length, I resorted to the only present remedy, that of vain attempts at <WSD>digitation</WSD>, [...] where the pain my fingers gave me in striving for admission, though they procured me a slight satisfaction for the present, started an apprehension, which I could not be easy until I had communicated to Phoebe and received her explanations upon it. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Touching; manipulation with the fingers.