And cattle, from their milking sheds, came lowing for more pasture; and the bark of a shepherd's dog rang quick, as if his sheep were drowsy.
In the midst of innocent sights and sounds that murderer's heart misgave him.

He left his vain quest off, and gazed, with fear and hate of nature's beauty, at the change from day to night which had not waited for him.

Some touch of his childhood moved him perhaps, some thought of times when he played "I spy," or listened to twilight ghost tales; at any rate, as he rose and faced the evening, he sighed heavily.
Then he strode away; and although he passed me almost within length of his rod, there was little fear of his discovering me, because his mind was elsewhere.
It will, perhaps, be confessed by all who are not as brave as lions that so far I had acquitted myself pretty well in this trying matter.
Horribly scared as I was at first, I had not allowed this to conquer me, but had even rushed into new jeopardy.

But now the best part of my courage was spent; and when the tall stranger refixed his rod and calmly recrossed those ominous planks, I durst not set forth on the perilous errand of spying out his ways and tracking him.

A glance was enough to show the impossibility in those long meadows of following without being seen in this stage of the twilight.