4 o'clock
I felt that it was positively useless to go to bed , nor could I concentrate my mind sufficiently to read a book . I turned my lamp half down to moderate the glare , and leaning back in my chair , I gave myself up to reverie . I must have lost all perception of time , for I have no recollection how long I sat there on the borderland betwixt thought and slumber . At last , about 3 or possibly 4 o'clock , I came to myself with a start -- not only came to myself , but with every sense and nerve upon the strain . Looking round my chamber in the dim light , I could not see anything to justify my sudden trepidation . The homely room , the rain-blurred window and the rude wooden door were all as they had been . I had begun to persuade myself that some half-formed dream had sent that vague thrill through my nerves , when in a moment I became conscious of what it was .