"
"It is lifting now, I think," Maloney whispered back. "It's over the
tops of the trees already."
I cannot say what it was in this commonplace exchange of remarks that
thrilled. Probably Maloney's swift acquiescence in the doctor's mood had
something to do with it; for his quick obedience certainly impressed me
a good deal. But, even without that slight evidence, it was clear that
each recognised the gravity of the occasion, and understood that sleep
was impossible and sentry duty was the order of the night.
"Report to me," repeated John Silence once again, "the least sound, and
do nothing precipitately."
He shifted across to the mouth of the tent and raised the flap,
fastening it against the pole so that he could see out. Maloney stopped
humming and began to force the breath through his teeth with a kind of
faint hissing, treating us to a medley of church hymns and popular songs
of the day.
Then the tent trembled as though some one had touched it.
"That's the wind rising," whispered the clergyman, and pulled the flap
open as far as it would go.
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