I.,
when the light ceased to shine through the crack under the door,
and he awoke with a sense of dull incredulity to the realisation that
the occupants of the drawing-room had called it a day and that his
vigil was over.
But was it? Once more alert, Sam became cautious. True, the light
seemed to be off, but did that mean anything in a country-house, where
people had the habit of going and strolling about the garden at all
hours? Probably they were still popping about all over the place. At any
rate, it was not worth risking coming out of his lair. He remembered that
Webster had promised to come and knock an all-clear signal on the door.
It would be safer to wait for that.
But the moments went by, and there was no knock. Sam began to grow
impatient. The last few minutes of waiting in a cupboard are always the
hardest. Time seemed to stretch out again interminably. Once he thought
he heard foot-steps, but that led to nothing. Eventually, having
strained his ears and finding everything still, he decided to take a
chance.
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