He opened the door
and went downstairs very slowly, thinking to himself. His past went
soberly before him; he beheld it as it was, ugly and strenuous like
a dream, random as chance-medley--a scene of defeat. Life, as he
thus reviewed it, tempted him no longer; but on the farther side he
perceived a quiet haven for his bark. He paused in the passage, and
looked into the shop, where the candle still burned by the dead body.
It was strangely silent. Thoughts of the dealer swarmed into his mind,
as he stood gazing. And then the bell once more broke out into
impatient clamor.
He confronted the maid upon the threshold with something like a smile.
"You had better go for the police," said he: "I have killed your
master."
NOTES
[1] Written in 1884. This story is used by permission of and special
arrangement with the Charles Scribner's Sons Company, Publishers.
[2] 237:1 windfalls. Unexpected gains.
[3] 237:3 dividend. His knowledge a business asset that draws
interest.
[4] 241:22 skewer-like. Like a wooden pin now used to fasten meat.
[5] 242:11 leaguer. Place besieged with shadows.
[6] 242:27 Time was that when the brains were out. See Macbeth, Act
III, sc. 4, line 78.
[7] 243:16 iteration. Repetition.
[8] 246:25 railleries. Merry jesting or ridicule.
[9] 247:7 garishly. A blinding, gaudy effect.
[10] 247:7 Brownrigg.
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