“Oh, oh, oh!” cried Anna.
“Shame!” said my wife, “it’s that new bottled cider, in the cellar, going off. I told Biddy to wire the bottles to-day.”
I shall here transcribe from memoranda, kept during part of the night.
“One o’clock. No sign of the bug. Ticking continues. Wife getting sleepy.
“Two o’clock. No sign of the bug. Ticking intermittent. Wife fast asleep.
“Three o’clock. No sign of the bug. Ticking pretty steady. Julia and Anna getting sleepy.
“Four o’clock. No sign of the bug. Ticking regular, but not spirited. Wife, Julia, and Anna, all fast asleep in their chairs.
“Five o’clock. No sign of the bug. Ticking faint. Myself feeling drowsy. The rest still asleep.”
So far the journal.
—Rap! rap! rap!
A terrific, portentous rapping against a door.
Startled from our dreams, we started to our feet.
Rap! rap! rap!
Julia and Anna shrieked.