's desultory whispering, and intervals, growing longer and longer, of
silence, it was plain that Milly was falling asleep.

She strove against it, and I tried hard to keep her talking; but it would
not do--sleep overcame her; and I was the only person in that ghastly room
in a state of perfect consciousness.

There were associations connected with my last vigil there to make my
situation very nervous and disagreeable. Had I not had so much to occupy my
mind of a distinctly practical kind--Dudley's audacious suit, my uncle's
questionable toleration of it, and my own conduct throughout that most
disagreeable period of my existence,--I should have felt my present
situation a great deal more.

As it was, I thought of my real troubles, and something of Cousin Knollys,
and, I confess, a good deal of Lord Ilbury. When looking towards the door,
I thought I saw a human face, about the most terrible my fancy could have
called up, looking fixedly into the room. It was only a 'three-quarter,'
and not the whole figure--the door hid that in a great measure, and I
fancied I saw, too, a portion of the fingers. The face gazed toward the
bed, and in the imperfect light looked like a livid mask, with chalky eyes.

I had so often been startled by similar apparitions formed by accidental
lights and shadows disguising homely objects, that I stooped forward,
expecting, though tremulously, to see this tremendous one in like manner
dissolve itself into its harmless elements; and now, to my unspeakable
terror, I became perfectly certain that I saw the countenance of Madame de
la Rougierre.

With a cry, I started back, and shook Milly furiously from her trance.

'Look! look!' I cried. But the apparition or illusion was gone.

I clung so fast to Milly's arm, cowering behind her, that she could not
rise.

'Milly! Milly! Milly! Milly!' I went on crying, like one struck with
idiotcy, and unable to say anything else.

In a panic, Milly, who had seen nothing, and could conjecture nothing of
the cause of my terror, jumped up, and clinging to one another, we huddled
together into the corner of the room, I still crying wildly, 'Milly! Milly!
_Milly_!' and nothing else.

'What is it--where is it--what do you see?' cried Milly, clinging to me as
I did to her.

'It will come again; it will come; oh, heaven!'

'What--what is it, Maud?'

'The face! the face!' I cried. 'Oh, Milly! Milly! Milly!'

We heard a step softly approaching the open door,