INS AND OUTS OF THE MATTER 343 



She looked at Amos; he was very still, evidently 

 asleep, yet unnaturally so, for the regular breathing 

 of unconsciousness was not there and the firelight 

 shadows made him look pinched and strange. Sud- 

 denly she felt alone and panic stricken; she forgot the 

 tests so well known to her of pulse taking, and all the 

 countryside tales of strokes and seizures came back to 

 her. She did not hesitate a moment; a man was in 

 the same house and she felt entirely outside of the 

 strength of her own will. 



Going to the separating door, she found it locked, 

 on which side she could not be sure ; but seeing a long 

 key hanging by the clock she tried it, on general prin- 

 ciples. It turned hard, and the lock finally yielded with 

 a percussive snap. Stepping into the hall, she saw a 

 light in the front of the house, toward which she hur- 

 ried. The Man was seated by a table that was strewn 

 with books, papers, and draughting instruments; he 

 was not working, but in his turn gazing at the flames 

 from a smouldering hearth fire, though his coat was off 

 and the window open, for it was not cold but merely 

 chilly. 



Hearing her step, he started, turned, and, as he saw 

 her upon the threshold, made a grab for his coat and 

 swung it into place. It is strange, this instinct in 



