"What stopped you?

"I saw a light, under the door; and I heard footsteps approaching it."

"Were you frightened?"

"Not then. I knew my poor mother was a bad sleeper; and I remembered
that she had tried hard, that evening, to persuade me to let her take
charge of my Diamond. She was unreasonably anxious about it, as I
thought; and I fancied she was coming to me to see if I was in bed, and
to speak to me about the Diamond again, if she found that I was up."

"What did you do?"

"I blew out my candle, so that she might think I was in bed. I was
unreasonable, on my side--I was determined to keep my Diamond in the
place of my own choosing."

"After blowing out the candle, did you go back to bed?"

"I had no time to go back. At the moment when I blew the candle out, the
sitting-room door opened, and I saw----"

"You saw?"

"You."

"Dressed as usual?"

"No."

"In my nightgown?"

"In your nightgown--with your bedroom candle in your hand."

"Alone?"

"Alone."

"Could you see my face?"

"Yes."

"Plainly?"

"Quite plainly. The candle in your hand showed it to me."

"Were my eyes open?"

"Yes."

"Did you notice anything strange in them? Anything like a fixed, vacant
expression?"

"Nothing of the sort. Your eyes were bright--brighter than usual. You
looked about in the room, as if you knew you were where you ought not to
be, and as if you were afraid of being found out."

"Did you observe one thing when I came into the room--did you observe
how I walked?"

"You walked as you always do. You came in as far as the middle of the
room--and then you stopped and looked about you."

"What did you do, on first seeing me?"

"I could do nothing. I was petrified. I couldn't speak, I couldn't call
out, I couldn't even move to shut my door."

"Could I see you, where you stood?"

"You might certainly have seen me. But you never looked towards me. It's
useless to ask the question. I am sure you never saw me."

"How are you sure?"

"Would you have taken the Diamond? would you have acted as you did
afterwards? would you be here now--if you had seen that I was awake and
looking at you? Don't make me talk of that part of it! I want to answer
you quietly. Help me to keep as calm as I can. Go on to something else."

She was right--in every way, right. I went on to other things.

"What did I do, after I had got to the middle of the room, and had
stopped there?"

"You turned away, and went straight to the