He awoke in the early morning in his bedroom, and looked around him, now
clear-headed, in amazement. In its usual place on the strong table stood
the great steel-hooped chest without lock or key. But it was now locked.
He arose quietly and stole to the turret-room. There everything was as
it had been on the previous evening. He looked out of the window where
high in air flew, as usual, the giant kite. He unlocked the wicket gate
of the turret stair and went out on the roof. Close to him was the great
coil of cord on its reel. It was humming in the morning breeze, and when
he touched the string it sent a quick thrill through hand and arm. There
was no sign anywhere that there had been any disturbance or displacement
of anything during the night.
Utterly bewildered, he sat down in his room to think. Now for the first
time he _felt_ that he was asleep and dreaming. Presently he fell asleep
again, and slept for a long time. He awoke hungry and made a hearty
meal. Then towards evening, having locked himself in, he fell asleep
again. When he woke he was in darkness, and was quite at sea as to his
whereabouts. He began feeling about the dark room, and was recalled to
the consequences of his position by the breaking of a large piece of
glass. Having obtained a light, he discovered this to be a glass wheel,
part of an elaborate piece of mechanism which he must in his sleep have
taken from the chest, which was now opened. He had once again opened it
whilst asleep, but he had no recollection of the circumstances.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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