And might he not have time to tear me,
as he tore the sheep, before any aid could arrive? At last what I
dreaded came to pass--a light footstep on the landing--there is a
tap at the door. A pause succeeds, and then the tapping is
renewed, and this time more loudly. Then the madman stretched his
limbs, and uttered his moaning cry, and his eyes slowly opened--
very slowly opened and met mine. The girl waited a while ere she
knocked for the third time. I trembled lest she should open the
door unbidden--see that grim thing, and bring about the worst.
I saw the wondering surprise in his haggard, bloodshot eyes; I saw
him stare at me half vacantly, then with a crafty yet wondering
look; and then I saw the devil of murder begin to peep forth from
those hideous eyes, and the lips to part as in a sneer, and the
wolfish teeth to bare themselves. But I was not what I had been.
Fear gave me a new and a desperate composure--a courage foreign to
my nature. I had heard of the best method of managing the insane;
I could but try; I DID try. Calmly, wondering at my own feigned
calm, I fronted the glare of those terrible eyes.
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