Sentence:  And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway&mdash;and <WSD>halted</WSD> amazed. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To stop either temporarily or permanently.