rest of the household had gone to bed. We had no light in the room--as
Dick had a headache--save the fire, and that had burned so low that its
feeble glimmering scarcely enabled us to see each other's face. After a
space of sudden and thoughtful silence, Dick took the stump of a cigar
from his lips and threw it in the grate, where for a few moments it lay
glowing in the gloom.

"'Jack,' he said, 'you will think me mad, but there is something deuced
queer about this room to-night--something in the atmosphere I cannot
define, but which I have never felt here--or indeed anywhere--before.
Look at that cigar-end--look!'

"I did so, and received a shock. What I saw was certainly not the stump
Dick had had in his mouth, but an eye--a large, red and lurid eye--that
looked up at us with an expression of the utmost hate.

"Dick raised the shovel and struck at it, but without effect--it still
glared at us. A great horror then seized us, and unable to remove our
gaze from the hellish thing, we sat glued to our chairs staring at it.
This state of affairs lasted till the clock in the hall outside struck
twelve, when the eye suddenly vanished, and we both felt as if some
intensely evil influence had been suddenly removed.

"Dick did not like the idea of sleeping alone, and asked if he might
keep the electric light on in his room all night. Tremendous
extravagance, but under the circumstances excusable. I confess I
devoutly wished it was morning.

"_Tuesday, October 12th._--I was awakened at 11.30 p.m. by Delia saying
to me, 'Oh, Edward, there have been such dreadful noises on the landing,