" The
stopped alarum-clock was underneath her pillow; Uncle Felix had tucked
them up, each in turn; everything was all right. She fell asleep, the
others fell asleep, Time also fell asleep.
And above the Old Mill House that warm June night the darkness kept
the secret faithfully, yet offered little signs and hints to those who
did not sleep too heavily. The feeling that something or somebody was
coming hung in the very air; there was a gentle haze beneath the
stars; and a breeze that passed softly through the lime trees dropped
semi-articulate warnings. There were curious, faint echoes flying
between the walls and the Wood without a Centre; the daisies heard
them and opened half an eyelid; the Night-Wind whispered and sighed as
it bore them to and fro. Maria's question entered the dream of the
entire garden: "Why not? Why not? Why not?"
An owl in the barn beyond the stables heard the call and took it up,
and told it to some swallows fast asleep below the eaves, who woke
with sudden chattering and mentioned it to a robin in the laurel
shrubberies below. The robin pretended not to be at all surprised, but
felt it a duty to inform a coot who lived a quarter of a mile away
among the reeds of the lower pond.
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