midnight
That night Jean awoke and heard stealthy footsteps , like a man walking in his socks and no boots , going all through the house but never coming to her room . She did not get up to see who it was , but lay perfectly still and heard her heart thump . When she saw a dim , yellow ray of light under the door which opened into the kitchen , she drew the blanket over her head , and got no comfort whatever from the feel of her six-shooter close against her hand . The next morning she told herself that she had given in to a fine case of nerves , and that the mysterious footsteps of her story had become mixed up with the midnight wanderings of a pack-rat that had somehow gotten into the house . Then she remembered the bar of light under the door , and the pack-rat theory was spoiled . She had taken the board off the doorway into the kitchen , so that she could use the cookstove . The man could have come in if he had wanted to , and that knowledge she found extremely disquieting .