Marion had brought their simple supper into the parlour, and was sitting
there with James, waiting for him. When they had ended their meal, and
Eppie had removed the remnants, the husband and wife went into the
adjoining chamber and sat down by the bedside, where James presently joined
them with a book in his hand. Eppie, having _rested_ the fire in the
kitchen, came into the parlour, and sat on the edge of a chair just inside
the door.
Peter had said nothing about the night, and indeed, in his wrath with the
carpenter, had hardly noted how imminent was the storm; but the air had
grown very sultry, and the night was black as pitch, for a solid mass of
cloud had blotted out the stars: it was plain that, long before morning, a
terrible storm must break. But midnight came and went, and all was very
still.
Suddenly the storm was upon them, with a forked, vibrating flash of angry
light that seemed to sting their eyeballs, and was replaced by a darkness
that seemed to crush them like a ponderous weight.
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