A faint rattling shiver went through the naked company; pair after pair the lamping eyes went out; and the darkness grew round me with the loneliness.

For a moment the leaves were still swept fluttering all one way; then the wind ceased, and the owl floated silent through the silent night.
Not for a moment had I been afraid.

It is true that whoever would cross the threshold of any world, must leave fear behind him; but, for myself, I could claim no part in its absence.

No conscious courage was operant in me; simply, I was not afraid.

I neither knew why I was not afraid, nor wherefore I might have been afraid.