END AND BEGINNING
I
"Mrs. Tams!" said Mrs. Maldon, in a low, alarmed, and urgent voice.
The gas was turned down in the bedroom, and Mrs. Maldon, looking from her bed across the chamber, could only just distinguish the stout, vague form of the charwoman asleep in an arm-chair. The light from the street lamp was strong enough to throw faint shadows of the window-frames on the blinds. The sleeper did not stir.
Mrs. Maldon summoned again, more loudly—
"Mrs. Tams!"
And Mrs. Tams, starting out of another world, replied with deprecation—
"Hey, hey!" as if saying: "I am here. I am fully awake and observant. Please remain calm."
Mrs. Maldon said agitatedly—
"I've just heard the front door open. I'm sure whoever it was was trying not to make a noise. There! Can't you hear anything?"