tried to
recall the events of the night. Something had happened which she had
seen vaguely through the veil of her torpor. Despite her drowsiness,
she had been frightened, horrified by it; yet afterwards the incident
had vanished from her memory, and now she was endeavouring to bring
back the faint trace into consciousness.

It was just before she had fallen completely asleep, when her senses
were becoming dulled, and the final action of the morphia was about to
set in, that a slight cough had brought her back from the void,
partially arousing her. While in this condition she had perceived that
Otto, her husband, had softly raised himself in bed. Sitting up he had
listened awhile, then had crept cautiously towards her, and had
remained standing by her bed for a long time.

Now she remembered: she had been horribly afraid that he would do her
some injury; that with his big strong hands he would take her by the
throat and strangle her. She was far too weak to resist him; indeed,
she had felt that she had not even the strength to cry out. But nothing
of this had happened. He had only stood there motionless by her
bedside, looking into her face. She had felt his gaze through eyelids
that had closed with fatigue. Then she had gradually sunk into sleep;
and just at the very last she fancied she had been aware that her
husband was moving away from her bed.

She pressed her hands to her brow as if to prevent the thoughts from
escaping. She closed her eyes and forced herself to live again through
the events of the night. At last they came back to her, and the memory
struck her like a stinging lash, so that she cowered on her bed,
clutching the coverlet with her hands, and biting her handkerchief to
keep herself from shrieking with horror and hatred.

When he left her side her husband had turned towards the door--towards
the door beyond which her sister slept. And thus it was that the
shameless pair took advantage of that sleep for which she, poor
invalid, had been so thankful! Even this relief, this wretched remnant
of happiness, they embittered for her!

Never again should the healing, sleep-giving drug cross her lips, to
give the opportunity for such abominations! Never! Not if it cost her
her life! For that life was no longer worth having.

But stay! She would dissemble; would appear to take the drug and then
pretend to go to sleep, in order to gain a chance of revenging herself
on the adulterers how, she did not know