Barnes shook him off, and putting the candle back on the mantelpiece,
tried again to arouse the sleepers.
"It's no good," he said at last, and, turning from them, watched Meagle.
"Don't you go to sleep," he said anxiously.
Meagle shook his head, and they stood for some time in uneasy silence.
"May as well shut the door," said Barnes at last.
He crossed over and closed it gently. Then at a scuffling noise behind
him he turned and saw Meagle in a heap on the hearthstone.
With a sharp catch in his breath he stood motionless. Inside the room
the candle, fluttering in the draught, showed dimly the grotesque
attitudes of the sleepers. Beyond the door there seemed to his over-
wrought imagination a strange and stealthy unrest. He tried to whistle,
but his lips were parched, and in a mechanical fashion he stooped, and
began to pick up the cards which littered the floor.
He stopped once or twice and stood with bent head listening. The unrest
outside seemed to increase; a loud creaking sounded from the stairs.
"Who is there?" he cried loudly.
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