result was, naturally, that the old lady wouldn't let Bella out of
her sight, except to go to the kitchen for something to eat for her.
That very day Bella got the doctor to order ale for Aunt Selina (oh,
yes; the doctor could come in; Dal said "it was all a-coming in, and
nothing going out") and she had three pints of Bass, and learned to eat
anchovies and caviare--all in one day.

Bella's conduct to Jim was disgraceful. She snubbed him, ignored him,
tramped on him, and Jim was growing positively flabby. He spent most of
his time writing letters to the board of health and playing solitaire.
He was a pathetic figure.

Well, we went to bed fairly early. Bella had massaged Aunt Selina's
face and rubbed in cold cream, Anne and Dallas had compromised on which
window should be open in their bedroom, and the men had matched to see
who should look at the furnace. I did not expect to sleep, but the cold
night air had done its work, and I was asleep almost immediately.

Some time during the early part of the night I wakened, and, after
turning and twisting uneasily, I realized that I was cold. The couch
in Bella's dressing room was comfortable enough, but narrow and low. I
remember distinctly (that was what was so maddening; everybody thought I
dreamed it)--I remember getting an eiderdown comfort that was folded
at my feet, and pulling it up around me. In the luxury of its warmth I
snuggled down and went to sleep almost instantly. It seemed to me I had
slept for hours, but it was probably an hour or less, when something
roused me. The room was perfectly dark, and there was not a sound save
the faint ticking of the clock, but I was wide awake.

And then came the incident that in its ghastly, horrible absurdity made
the rest of the people shout with laughter the next day. It was not
funny then. For suddenly the eiderdown comfort began to slip. I heard no
footstep, not the slightest sound approaching me, but the comfort
moved; from my chin, inch by inch, it slipped to my shoulders; awfully,
inevitably, hair-raisingly it moved. I could feel my blood gather around
my heart, leaving me cold and nerveless. As it passed my hands I gave
an involuntary clutch for it, to feel it slip away from my fingers. Then
the full horror of the situation took hold of me; as the comfort slid
past my feet I sat up and screamed at the top of my voice.

Of course, people came running in all sorts of things. I was still
sitting up, declaring I had seen