in bed an hour he was sleeping soundly.

But even though his eyes persisted in closing despite his will, Dan did
not sleep very long at a time. He was awake at least every half hour
and his small stock of matches was exhausted as early as two o'clock.
With no means of procuring a light, it would be impossible for him to
know when the time had come, and, since he did not dare to go to sleep
again, he concluded it would be better to set out at once than run the
risk of delaying until his father should awaken.

During the time he was making very awkward attempts to dress himself in
the darkness, his fingers trembling violently, both from fear and the
cold, he fancied each moment that he could hear his parents moving
around, as if they had suspected his purpose, and were on the alert to
prevent him from carrying it into execution. It seemed, too, as if each
particular board in the floor creaked in protest at what he was doing,
and to give the alarm.

The note which was to inform his parents of where he had gone was
placed conspicuously on the chair by the bed, where his mother could
not fail to see it when she came to awaken him; and when that was done
his journey seemed more like some demand of business, and less like
disobedience to what he knew his parents' command would be.

He did finally succeed in dressing himself, although his jacket was
buttoned in a very curious fashion; and then, with his shoes and
mittens in his hands, he started down-stairs. If the boards of the
floor had tried to arouse his parents, the stairs appeared bent on
awakening the entire household, - although he did his best to put as
little weight as possible upon them, they creaked and screamed in a