How peaceful and spacious it was; and the peace possessed him so completely that his muscles slackened, his book drooped from his hand, and he forgot that the hour of work was wasting minute by minute.
He was roused by a creak upon the stair.

With a guilty start he composed himself, frowned and looked intently at the fifty-sixth page of his volume.

A step paused outside his door, and he knew that the person, whoever it might be, was considering the placard, and debating whether to honor its decree or not.

Certainly, policy advised him to sit still in autocratic silence, for no custom can take root in a family unless every breach of it is punished severely for the first six months or so.
But Ralph was conscious of a distinct wish to be interrupted, and his disappointment was perceptible when he heard the creaking sound rather farther down the stairs, as if his visitor had decided to withdraw.

He rose, opened the door with unnecessary abruptness, and waited on the landing.