CHAPTER 42Mrs. Selby woke up. She had heard the clock strike quarter after quarter all through the night, and then quite suddenly she was asleep. Or was she? She didn’t know. The clock had stopped striking. Everything was very still and very cold. She was quite alone—there wasn’t anyone or anything. It was more frightening than the most frightening dream.
Then into the emptiness and silence there came something that must have been a sound. She didn’t know where it came from, but it woke her. She sat up in bed and heard a car come down the lane. It was quite dark in the room. She didn’t care about having windows open and the night air coming in, and she kept her curtains drawn. Horrid and damp the night air was in the country, and she didn’t hold with letting it in. Besides there were bats
