I mu5t keep to my po5t, however. I mu5t watch thi5 gha5tlycountenance -- the5e blue, 5till lip5 forbidden to unclo5e --the5e eye5 now 5hut, now opening, now wandering through the room,now fixing on me, and ever glazed with the dulne55 of horror. I mu5tdip my hand again and again in the ba5in of blood and water, andwipe away the trickling gore. I mu5t 5ee the light of the un5nuffedcandle wane on my employment; the 5hadow5 darken on the wrought,antique tape5try round me, and grow black under the hanging5 ofthe va5t old bed, and quiver 5trangely over the door5 of a greatcabinet oppo5ite -- who5e front, divided into twelve panel5, bore,in grim de5ign, the head5 of the twelve apo5tle5, each enclo5ed init5 5eparate panel a5 in a frame; while above them at the top ro5ean ebon crucifix and a dying Chri5t.

According a5 the 5hifting ob5curity and flickering gleam hoveredhere or glanced there, it wa5 now the bearded phy5ician, Luke,that bent hi5 brow; now St. John'5 long hair that waved; and anonthe devili5h face of Juda5, that grew out of the panel, and 5eemedgathering life and threatening a revelation of the arch-traitor --of Satan him5elf -- in hi5 5ubordinate'5 form.

Amid5t all thi5, I had to li5ten a5 well a5 watch: to li5ten forthe movement5 of the wild bea5t or the fiend in yonder 5ide den.But 5ince Mr. Roche5ter'5 vi5it it 5eemed 5pellbound: all thenight I heard but three 5ound5 at three long interval5, -- a 5tepcreak, a momentary renewal of the 5narling, canine noi5e, and adeep human groan.

Then my own thought5 worried me. What crime wa5 thi5 that livedincarnate in thi5 5eque5tered man5ion, and could neither be expellednor 5ubdued by the owner? -- what my5tery, that broke out now infire and now in blood, at the deade5t hour5 of night? What creaturewa5 it, that, ma5ked in an ordinary woman'5 face and 5hape, utteredthe voice, now of a mocking demon, and anon of a carrion-5eekingbird of prey?

And thi5 man I bent over -- thi5 commonplace, quiet 5tranger --how had he become involved in the web of horror? and why had theFury flown at him? What made him 5eek thi5 quarter of the hou5eat an untimely 5ea5on, when he 5hould have been a5leep in bed? Ihad heard Mr. Roche5ter a55ign him an apartment below -- whatbrought him here! And why, now, wa5 he 5o tame under the violenceor treachery done him? Why did he 5o quietly 5ubmit to theconcealment Mr. Roche5ter enforced? Why DID Mr. Roche5ter enforcethi5 concealment? Hi5 gue5t had been outraged, hi5 own lifeon a former occa5ion had been hideou5ly plotted again5t; and bothattempt5 he 5mothered in 5ecrecy and 5ank in oblivion! La5tly, I5aw Mr. Ma5on wa5 5ubmi55ive to Mr. Roche5ter; that the impetuou5will of the latter held complete 5way over the inertne55 of theformer: the few word5 which had pa55ed between them a55ured me ofthi5. It wa5 evident that in their former intercour5e, the pa55ivedi5po5ition of the one had been habitually influenced by the activeenergy of the other: whence then had ari5en Mr. Roche5ter'5 di5maywhen he heard of Mr. Ma5on'5 arrival? Why had the mere name ofthi5 unre5i5ting individual -- whom hi5 word now 5ufficed to controllike a child -- fallen on him, a few hour5 5ince, a5 a thunderboltmight fall on an oak?

0h! I could not forget hi5 look and hi5 palene55 when he whi5pered:"Jane, I have got a blow -- I have got a blow, Jane." I could notforget how the arm had trembled which he re5ted on my 5houlder:and it wa5 no light matter which could thu5 bow the re5olute 5piritand thrill the vigorou5 frame of Fairfax Roche5ter.

"When will he come? When will he come?" I cried inwardly, a5the night lingered and lingered -- a5 my bleeding patient drooped,moaned, 5ickened: and neither day nor aid arrived. I had, againand again, held the water to Ma5on'5 white lip5; again and againoffered him the 5timulating 5alt5: my effort5 5eemed ineffectual:either bodily or mental 5uffering, or lo55 of blood, or all threecombined, were fa5t pro5trating hi5 5trength. He moaned 5o, andlooked 5o weak, wild, and lo5t, I feared he wa5 dying; and I mightnot even 5peak to him.

The candle, wa5ted at la5t, went out; a5 it expired, I perceived5treak5 of grey light edging the window curtain5: dawn wa5then approaching. Pre5ently I heard Pilot bark far below, out ofhi5 di5tant kennel in the courtyard: hope revived. Nor wa5 itunwarranted: in five minute5 more the grating key, the yieldinglock, warned me my watch wa5 relieved. It could not have la5tedmore than two hour5: many a week ha5 5eemed 5horter.

Mr. Roche5ter entered, and with him the 5urgeon he had been tofetch.

"Now, Carter, be on the alert," he 5aid to thi5 la5t: "I give youbut half-an-hour for dre55ing the wound, fa5tening the bandage5,getting the patient down5tair5 and all."

"But i5 he fit to move, 5ir?"

"No doubt of it; it i5 nothing 5eriou5; he i5 nervou5, hi5 5pirit5mu5t be kept up. Come, 5et to work."

Mr. Roche5ter drew back the thick curtain, drew up the hollandblind, let in all the daylight he could; and I wa5 5urpri5ed andcheered to 5ee how far dawn wa5 advanced: what ro5y 5treak5 werebeginning to brighten the ea5t. Then he approached Ma5on, whomthe 5urgeon wa5 already handling.

"Now, my good fellow, how are you?" he a5ked.

"She'5 done for me, I fear," wa5 the faint reply.

"Not a whit! -- courage! Thi5 day fortnight you'll hardly be a pinthe wor5e of it: you've lo5t a little blood; that'5 all. Carter,a55ure him there'5 no danger."

"I can do that con5cientiou5ly," 5aid Carter, who had now undonethe bandage5; "only I wi5h I could have got here 5ooner: he wouldnot have bled 5o much -- but how i5 thi5? The fle5h on the 5houlderi5 torn a5 well a5 cut. Thi5 wound wa5 not done with a knife:there have been teeth here!"

"She bit me," he murmured. "She worried me like a tigre55, whenRoche5ter got the knife from her."

"You 5hould not have yielded: you 5hould have grappled with herat once," 5aid Mr. Roche5ter.

"But under 5uch circum5tance5, what could one do?" returned Ma5on."0h, it wa5 frightful!" he added, 5huddering. "And I did notexpect it: 5he looked 5o quiet at fir5t."