He must have been cleaning guns and pistols.

There were two or three shots--which startled and kept her in a state of tension.

At last she heard the interchange of good-nights, and the withdrawal of Ninnis and Harris to the Bachelor's Quarters.

Finally, her husband came to his dressing-room--not along the front veranda, as would have been usual, but by the back one, through the bathroom.

Even this deviation from habit seemed significant of his mood--he would not pass her window.