I had so much to think about that sometimes I sat in one place for hours and never knew where the time went.
This night, the very first thing, I heard Wright's well-known footsteps, and I saw Sampson's door open, flashing a broad bar of light into the darkness.

Wright crossed the threshold, the door closed, and all was dark again outside.

Not a ray of light escaped from the window.

This was the first visit of Wright for a considerable stretch of time.

Little doubt there was that his talk with Sampson would be interesting to me.
I tiptoed to the door and listened, but I could hear only a murmur of voices.