But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eye. Meantime the hellish beat of the door increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder, every instant. The girls's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment! -- do you mark me well? I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder, Louder...
There it is! Knocking on the door has been one of his routine pranks for days now. (Of course, I never answered it.)I'll—Knock!Knock!Knock!It'll be OK. It's not like I've been cooped up here for these past few days doing nothing. I've made the "necessary" preparations. It's foolproof!Knock!I'll bring him down.Kno...*running*Perhaps the time has come for me to make the first move.
