the damp that had gathered on his forehead, reasoned with
himself for a little while, and resolved to shake his mind free of
the ghastly counterfeit which still clung to it by forcing himself
to confront, if it was only for a moment, the solemn reality. Without
allowing himself an instant to hesitate, he parted the curtains at the
foot of the bed, and looked through.

There was the sad, peaceful, white face, with the awful mystery of
stillness on it, laid back upon the pillow. No stir, no change there! He
only looked at it for a moment before he closed the curtains again, but
that moment steadied him, calmed him, restored him--mind and body--to
himself. He returned to his old occupation of walking up and down the
room, persevering in it this time till the clock struck again.

Twelve.

As the sound of the clock-bell died away, it was succeeded by the
confused noise downstairs of the drinkers in the taproom leaving the
house. The next sound, after an interval of silence, was caused by the
barring of the door and the closing of the shutters at the back of the
inn. Then the silence followed again, and was disturbed no more.

He was alone now--absolutely, hopelessly alone with the dead man till
the next morning.

The wick of the candle wanted trimming again. He took up the snuffers,
but paused suddenly on the very point of using them, and looked
attentively at the candle--then back, over his shoulder, at the
curtained bed--then again at the candle. It had been lighted for the
first time to show him the way upstairs, and three parts of it, at
least, were already consumed. In another hour it would be burned out.
In another hour, unless he called at once to the man who had shut up the
inn for a fresh candle, he would be left in the dark.

Strongly as his mind had been affected since he had entered the room,
his unreasonable dread of encountering ridicule and of exposing his
courage to suspicion had not altogether lost its influence over him even
yet.

He lingered irresolutely by the table, waiting till he could prevail on
himself to open the door, and call from the landing, to the man who had
shut up the inn. In his present hesitating frame of mind, it was a
kind of relief to gain a few moments only by engaging in the trifling
occupation of snuffing the candle. His hand trembled a little, and the
snuffers were heavy and awkward to use. When he closed them on the wick,
he closed them a hair-breadth too low. In an instant