herself. Tear the sheets into strips and wind them tighter and tighter around her throat, or, better still, hang herself from one of the rafters in that back room in the attic. She saw herself dangling there, purple-faced—saw horrified Maurice discovering her—saw herself buried at the cross-road with a stake in her inside. She did not know whether that was still done, but it was possible that the custom would be revived for her—
She fell into a kind of nightmare doze, in which the bed rocked beneath her like a cradle. It rocked faster and faster, rolling her from side to side. She was not a real, a wholesome infant, but a grotesque changeling, leering up at the distraught mother who now peered in at her, shrieking, tearing her hair. Again the scream rent the silence, and Pheasant, with sweat starting on her face, sprang up in bed.
She was alone. The electric light shone brightly. Again came the loud peal—not a scream, but the ringing of the door-bell.
She leaped to the floor. The lock of the door had been broken many years. She began to drag at the washstand to barricade it.
Downstairs the sound had also penetrated Vaughan's stupor. He lurched to the door, which Pheasant had locked behind her, and threw it open. Renny and Piers Whiteoak stood there, their faces like two pale discs against the blackness. Renny at once stepped inside, but Piers remained in the porch.
"Is Pheasant here?" asked Renny.
"Yes." He eyed them with solemnity.
Renny turned to his brother. "Come in, Piers."
Vaughan led the way toward the dining room, but Piers stopped at the foot of the stairs.
"Is she upstairs?" he asked in a thick voice, placing one hand on the newel post as though to steady himself.
