own into a moaning that seemed to be articulate, and at
these times I made sure they must be human; and again they would break
forth and fill the house with ravings worthy of hell. I stood at the
door and gave ear to them, till at last they died away. Long after that,
I still lingered and still continued to hear them mingle in fancy with
the storming of the wind; and when at last I crept to my bed, it was
with a deadly sickness and a blackness of horror on my heart.

It was little wonder if I slept no more. Why had I been locked in? What
had passed? Who was the author of these indescribable and shocking
cries? A human being? It was inconceivable. A beast? The cries were
scarce quite bestial; and what animal, short of a lion or a tiger, could
thus shake the solid walls of the residencia? And while I was thus
turning over the elements of the mystery, it came into my mind that I
had not yet set eyes upon the daughter of the house. What was more
probable than that the daughter of the Senora, and the sister of Felipe,
should be herself insane? Or, what more likely than that these ignorant
and half-witted people should seek to manage an afflicted kinswoman by
violence? Here was a solution; and yet when I called to mind the cries
(which I never did without a shuddering chill) it seemed altogether
insufficient: not even cruelty could wring such cries from madness. But
of one thing I was sure: I could not live in a house where such a thing
was half conceivable, and not probe the matter home and, if necessary,
interfere.

The next day came, the wind had blown itself out, and there was nothing
to remind me of the business of the night. Felipe came to my bedside
with obvious cheerfulness; as I passed through the court the Senora was
sunning herself with her accustomed immobility; and when I issued from
the gateway I found the whole face of nature austerely smiling, the
heavens of a cold blue, and sown with great cloud islands, and the
mountain-sides mapped forth into provinces of light and shadow. A short
walk restored me to myself, and renewed within me the resolve to plumb
this mystery; and when, from the vantage of my knoll, I had seen Felipe
pass forth to his labours in the garden, I returned at once to the
residencia to put my design in practice. The Senora appeared plunged in
slumber; I stood a while and marked her, but she did not stir; even if
my design were indiscreet, I had little to fear from such a guardian;
and turnin