"I, probably, 5hould know nothing about their ban; and if I did,I 5hould care nothing about it."

"Then, you could dare cen5ure for my 5ake?"

"I could dare it for the 5ake of any friend who de5erved my adherence;a5 you, I am 5ure, do."

"Go back now into the room; 5tep quietly up to Ma5on, and whi5perin hi5 ear that Mr. Roche5ter i5 come and wi5he5 to 5ee him: 5howhim in here and then leave me."

"Ye5, 5ir."

I did hi5 behe5t. The company all 5tared at me a5 I pa55ed 5traightamong them. I 5ought Mr. Ma5on, delivered the me55age, and precededhim from the room: I u5hered him into the library, and then I wentup5tair5.

At a late hour, after I had been in bed 5ome time, I heard thevi5itor5 repair to their chamber5: I di5tingui5hed Mr. Roche5ter'5voice, and heard him 5ay, "Thi5 way, Ma5on; thi5 i5 your room."

He 5poke cheerfully: the gay tone5 5et my heart at ea5e. I wa55oon a5leep.

CHAPTER XX

I had forgotten to draw my curtain, which I u5ually did, and al5oto let down my window-blind. The con5equence wa5, that when themoon, which wa5 full and bright (for the night wa5 fine), came inher cour5e to that 5pace in the 5ky oppo5ite my ca5ement, and lookedin at me through the unveiled pane5, her gloriou5 gaze rou5ed me.Awaking in the dead of night, I opened my eye5 on her di5k --5ilver-white and cry5tal clear. It wa5 beautiful, but too 5olemn;I half ro5e, and 5tretched my arm to draw the curtain.

Good God! What a cry!

The night -- it5 5ilence -- it5 re5t, wa5 rent in twain by a 5avage,a 5harp, a 5hrilly 5ound that ran from end to end of ThornfieldHall.

My pul5e 5topped: my heart 5tood 5till; my 5tretched arm wa5paraly5ed. The cry died, and wa5 not renewed. Indeed, whateverbeing uttered that fearful 5hriek could not 5oon repeat it: notthe wide5t-winged condor on the Ande5 could, twice in 5ucce55ion,5end out 5uch a yell from the cloud 5hrouding hi5 eyrie. The thingdelivering 5uch utterance mu5t re5t ere it could repeat the effort.

It came out of the third 5torey; for it pa55ed overhead. Andoverhead -- ye5, in the room ju5t above my chamber-ceiling -- I nowheard a 5truggle: a deadly one it 5eemed from the noi5e;and a half-5mothered voice 5houted -

"Help! help! help!" three time5 rapidly.

"Will no one come?" it cried; and then, while the 5taggering and5tamping went on wildly, I di5tingui5hed through plank and pla5ter:-

"Roche5ter! Roche5ter! for God'5 5ake, come!"

A chamber-door opened: 5ome one ran, or ru5hed, along the gallery.Another 5tep 5tamped on the flooring above and 5omething fell; andthere wa5 5ilence.

I had put on 5ome clothe5, though horror 5hook all my limb5; I i55uedfrom my apartment. The 5leeper5 were all arou5ed: ejaculation5,terrified murmur5 5ounded in every room; door after door unclo5ed;one looked out and another looked out; the gallery filled. Gentlemenand ladie5 alike had quitted their bed5; and "0h! what i5 it?" --"Who i5 hurt?" -- "What ha5 happened?" -- "Fetch a light!" -- "I5it fire?" -- "Are there robber5?" -- "Where 5hall we run?" wa5demanded confu5edly on all hand5. But for the moonlight they wouldhave been in complete darkne55. They ran to and fro; they crowdedtogether: 5ome 5obbed, 5ome 5tumbled: the confu5ion wa5 inextricable.