CHAPTER V.
CONSULTATIONS.
Mrs.Bell went home on the evening of the funeral, very much exhausted and fatigued under the combined effects of watching, anxiety, and exertion.

She went to bed, and slept very soundly until nearly midnight.

The thunder awaked her.
She felt solitary and afraid.

Mary Bell, who was then about nine years old, was asleep in a crib, in a corner of the room.

There was a little night lamp, burning dimly on the table, and it shed a faint and dismal gleam upon the objects around it.