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What became of the missing weight on these occasions I found out one night. He had been ill, with some delirium, and the lion's share of the nursing, especially the night work, had fallen to my lot. There came a time, however, when we decided that he was so far recovered that it was unnecessary for anyone to sit up with him, so to bed we all went, for the first time for several days. I shared a room with another member of the community. It was a comparatively small cottage we were in, and our two beds were close together, side by side, right under the uncurtained open window. It was the time of the full moon, and I remember that I had no need to light a candle in order to see to undress.

I fell asleep at once, for I was very tired. I could not have been asleep very long, however, when I was awakened by the sensation of a weight upon my feet. It was as if a good-sized dog, say, a collie, had jumped up and lain down on the bed. The room was flooded with moonlight, and as bright as day, and I clearly saw, lying apparently asleep across the foot of my bed, the man whom we had left safely tucked up for the night in the room below. It was a somewhat embarrassing situation, and I lay still, taking thought before I did any thing. I was wide enough awake by now, as may well be imagined. I concluded that Z., as I will call this man, had either had a return of the delirium, or was sleep-walking. In any case I was very anxious to get him safely back to bed again without a fuss or a scene. My companion had a bad heart, and I did not want her to get a shock; neither did I want him to get a shock in his weak state. I was afraid that if I waked my room-mate first, she might scream, and wake Z. up with a start, with disastrous consequences. I decided therefore to wake him gently, as being the worse case of the two, and let her take her chance. Having cogitated these matters for several moments at least, I finally took action. I sat up in bed and leant quietly forward with the intention of touching him gently on the shoulder and so arousing him. In order to lean forward, I had to withdraw my feet from under him, for they were pinned by his weight, which until now had rested upon them, for I had been careful not to stir while thinking out my plan of campaign.