he perceived that he felt as if he were a boy again--a
boy excited by pleasure. It surprised as much as it
delighted him to experience this frank and direct joy
of a child. He caught the inkling of an idea that
perhaps his years were an illusion. He had latterly
been thinking of himself as middle-aged; the grey hairs
thickening at his temples had vaguely depressed him.
Now all at once he saw that he was not old at all.
The buoyancy of veritable youth bubbled in his veins.
He began walking up and down the room, regarding new
halcyon visions with a sparkling eye. He was no longer
conscious of the hated foe beneath his feet; they trod
instead elastic upon the clouds.

The sound of someone moving about in the hallway outside,
and of trying a door near by, suddenly caught his attention.
He stood still and listened with alertness for a surprised
instant, then shrugged his shoulders and began moving again.
It must be nearly seven o'clock; although the allotment
work had kept the clerks later than usual that day,
everybody connected with the offices had certainly gone home.
He realized that his nerves had played him a trick in
giving that alarmed momentary start--and smiled almost
tenderly as he remembered how notable and even glorious
a warrant those nerves had for their unsettled state.
They would be all right after a night's real rest.
He would know how to sleep NOW, thank God!

But yes--there was somebody outside--and this time
knocking with assurance at the right door, the entrance