midnight
I stepped onward a few paces ; and now saw one of the doors standing ajar . As I pushed this door wide open , the moan was repeated . Following the direction from which the sound came , I entered one of the large drawing-rooms . The atmosphere was stifling , and all as dark as if it were midnight . Groping my way to a window , I drew back the bolt and threw open the shutter . Broadly the light fell across the dusty , uncarpeted floor , and on the dingy furniture of the room . As it did so , the moaning voice which had drawn me thither swelled on the air again ; and now I saw , lying upon an old sofa , the form of a man .