I am not a hero; but neither am I a coward.
I waited about an hour, and during all that time I saw nothing unusual.
The rain, which had begun to come down strongly towards nine o'clock, had now ceased.
My friend had told me that, probably, nothing would occur before midnight or one o'clock in the morning.

It was not more than half-past eleven, however, when I heard the door of Arthur Rance's room open very slowly.

The door remained open for a minute, which seemed to me a long time.

As it opened into the gallery, that is to say, outwards, I could not see what was passing in the room behind the door.
At that moment I noticed a strange sound, three times repeated, coming from the park.

Ordinarily I should not have attached any more importance to it than I would to the noise of cats on the roof.