But instantly she was sharply aroused and conscious. And whoever was there in the darkness knew that she was awake. She knew that, without knowing how she knew it. The odor of chloroform permeated everything. And whoever stood there waited as breathlessly as she waited. Instinct told her that. As instinct held her tense, afraid to move, listening for a sound. Perhaps three or four seconds passed; it seemed an eternity of time but could have been no longer. Then two things happened. There was a barely perceptible motion somewhere in the room. And with shocking abruptness something went over with a loud crash in the hall outside. She didn’t really hear her bedroom door close. Yet she knew that whoever had stood there was gone although the reeking odor of chloroform was still sharp and strong. There was a lamp on her bed table; somehow she reached it and turned it on. The room leaped out of terrifying darkness into familiarity. No one was there. The door to the hall was closed. It took perhaps ten seconds for her to get to the door.
