All he thought of was the injustice of Jane's sufferings.

Added to this was an overpowering desire to reach her side before her misery should continue another moment; to fold her in his arms, stand between her and the world; help her to grapple with the horror which was slowly crushing out her life.

That it was past her hour for retiring, and that there might be no one to answer his summons, made no difference to him.
He must see her at all hazards before he closed his eyes.
As he whirled into the open gates of Yardley and peered from under the hood of the gig at the outlines of the old house, looming dimly through the avenue of bushes, he saw that the occupants were asleep; no lights shone from the upper windows and none burned in the hall below.

This discovery checked to some extent the impetus with which he had flung himself into the night, his whole being absorbed and dominated by one idea.

The cool wind, too, had begun to tell upon his nerves.