She tried to keep it down.

She tried to keep her mental eyes away from it.

And so, during all these days, she had no idea what the fearsome thing might be....
And then something did happen.

On the fifth day after Matilda's departure, and the eighteenth after the sailing of the Plutonia, Mrs.
De Peyster observed a sudden change in the atmosphere of the house.
Within an hour, from being filled with honeymoon hilarity, the house became filled with gloom.

There was no more laughter--no more running up and down the stairs and through the hallways--the piano's song was silent.