cast shadows because of the lamp glass. I do not know what I feared, but
I know a dreadful shiver of fear crept over me, and that some force
stronger than myself seemed to compel me to step inside the room in
spite of my fears."

CHAPTER XVIII

"He was lying on the bed, quite dead. There was blood on his breast, and
his hands were held out, as though he had tried to push off the man who
had killed him. On the table, by the head of the bed, was a lighted
candle, and it was the light of the candle which had cast the flickering
shadows I had seen before entering the room. On the bed, near the
pillow, was a match-box, and I remember picking it up and placing it in
the candlestick--mechanically, for I am sure I did not know what I was
doing, and I did not recall the act till afterwards. I have a clearer
recollection of touching something with my foot, and stooping to pick it
up. It was a knife--a white handled knife, with blood on the blade. And
as I stood there, with it in my hand, there came to my mind, clear and
distinct, the memory of having seen that knife on the dinner tray
Charles had carried past me upstairs, as I stood in the passage near the
kitchen, where I first discovered that Mr. Penreath was in the house.

"I do not know how long I stood there, with the knife in my hand,
looking at the body--perhaps it was not more than a moment. There seemed
to be two individualities in me, one urging me to fly, the other keeping
me rooted to the spot, petrified.

"Then I heard a sound downstairs. A wild panic came over me, and my head
grew dizzy. The shadows in the corners of the room seemed full of
mocking eyes, and I thought I heard stealthy steps creeping up the
stairs. I dared not stay where I was, but I was too afraid to go out
into the passage in the dark. Then my eyes fell on the candle, and I
picked it up and was going to rush from the room, when I remembered that
I had the knife in my hand.

"I did not know what to do with it. I wanted to shield him, but some
feeling within me would not let me carry it away. I looked round the
room for somewhere to hide it, and my eye fell on a picture against the
wall, close to the door. Quick as thought I put the knife behind the
picture as I ran from the room.

"There was nobody in the passage, and I gained my own room and locked
the door. I think I must have fainted, or become unconscious, for I
remember nothing more after throwing myself on my bed, and when I came