The sexton had lit the rushlight; and the
doctor, looking fearfully about the room, was just exhorting Dolph to
be of good cheer, and to pluck up a stout heart, when a noise in the
chimney, like voices and struggling, struck a sudden panic into the
sexton. He took to his heels with the lantern; the doctor followed
hard after him; the stairs groaned and creaked as they hurried down,
increasing their agitation and speed by its noises. The front door
slammed after them; and Dolph heard them scrabbling down the avenue,
till the sound of their feet was lost in the distance. That he did not
join in this precipitate retreat, might have been owing to his
possessing a little more courage than his companions, or perhaps that
he had caught a glimpse of the cause of their dismay, in a nest of
chimney swallows, that came tumbling down into the fire-place.
Being now left to himself, he secured the front door by a strong bolt
and bar; and having seen that the other entrances were fastened, he
returned to his desolate chamber. Having made his supper from the
basket which the good old cook had provided, he locked the chamber
door, and retired to rest on a mattress in one corner. The night was
calm and still; and nothing broke upon the profound quiet but the
lonely chirping of a cricket from the chimney of a distant chamber.
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