As he began the _Gagliarda_ he heard the wicker chair creak; but he had his back towards it, and the sound was now too familiar to him to cause him even to look round.

It was not till he was playing the repeat that he became aware of a new and overpowering sensation.
At first it was a vague feeling, so often experienced by us all, of not being alone.

He did not stop playing, and in a few seconds the impression of a presence in the room other than his own became so strong that he was actually afraid to look round.

But in another moment he felt that at all hazards he must see what or who this presence was.

Without stopping he partly turned and partly looked over his shoulder.