ld give me no quarter; and so kept my tale of horror to
myself.

"Now, Dick, you will hardly believe me, when I assure you, that for many
nights after this last experience, I did not go to my room at all. I
used to sit up for a while in the drawing-room after you had gone up to
your bed; and then steal down softly to the hall-door, let myself out,
and sit in the 'Robin Hood' tavern until the last guest went off; and
then I got through the night like a sentry, pacing the streets till
morning.

"For more than a week I never slept in bed. I sometimes had a snooze on
a form in the 'Robin Hood,' and sometimes a nap in a chair during the
day; but regular sleep I had absolutely none.

"I was quite resolved that we should get into another house; but I could
not bring myself to tell you the reason, and I somehow put it off from
day to day, although my life was, during every hour of this
procrastination, rendered as miserable as that of a felon with the
constables on his track. I was growing absolutely ill from this wretched
mode of life.

"One afternoon I determined to enjoy an hour's sleep upon your bed. I
hated mine; so that I had never, except in a stealthy visit every day to
unmake it, lest Martha should discover the secret of my nightly absence,
entered the ill-omened chamber.

"As ill-luck would have it, you had locked your bedroom, and taken away
the key. I went into my own to unsettle the bedclothes, as usual, and
give the bed the appearance of having been slept in. Now, a variety of
circumstances concurred to bring about the dreadful scene through which
I was that night to pass. In the first place, I was literally
overpowered with fatigue, and longing for sleep; in the next place, the
effect of this extreme exhaustion upon my nerves resembled that of a
narcotic, and rendered me less susceptible than, perhaps, I should in
any other condition have been, of the exciting fears which had become
habitual to me. Then again, a little bit of the window was open, a
pleasant freshness pervaded the room, and, to crown all, the cheerful
sun of day was making the room quite pleasant. What was to prevent my
enjoying an hour's nap _here_? The whole air was resonant with the
cheerful hum of life, and the broad matter-of-fact light of day filled
every corner of the room.

"I yielded--stifling my qualms--to the almost overpowering temptation;
and merely throwing off my coat, and loosening my cravat, I lay down,
limiting myself to