I still heard nothing, however, except for the wind and the rain. Lighting a candle and dressing myself quickly, I opened the door. I could just make out the figure of a bent old man standing in the hallway, when a gust of wind suddenly blew out the candle. The door leading to the street was open, and the old man was probably a straggler come to beg me for shelter or for something to eat. As I relit the candle, he entered my room and stood facing me, but he did not speak. His clothes were dripping and he was blinking at me with strange, gleaming eyes. His hair was snow-white, and as I looked into his face the deathly white color of it frightened me. His general appearance was more than startling; it was downright spooky.
"What can I do for you?" I asked.
Much to my surprise, he made no reply, but with a look of pain and great anxiety sank into a chair.
