‘Don't I hear it？-yes，I hear it，and I have heard it．For many minutes，many hours，many days I have heard it-but I was too frightened，too frightened to speak．We have put her alive into her coffin！Did I not tell you that I could hear even the softest sound？I tell you now that I heard her move in the coffin．I heard the sounds many days ago，but my terror was too great-I could not speak！And now tonight-when you read about Ethelred breaking the old man's door，about the cry of the dragon，and the falling of the gates-it was，in fact，the breaking of her coffin，the scream of metal as she broke open the vault，and the ringing crash as the metal door fell to the floor！Oh，where can I escape to？Is she hurrying towards me at this very minute？Is that her angry footstep that I can hear on the stairs？Can I hear the heavy and terrible beating of her heart？MADMAN！’