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she thought that it would not get dry, and would be uncomfortable to put on again, so she merely undid the buttons and let it hang open. The neck and shoulders of her pullover were wet too.
    She bought some cigarettes and smoked one in the waiting-room on the station. The stove in there was heated by coke. The top of it was so hot that when she touched the tip of the cigarette to it to light it, for she had forgotten to buy any matches, she thought her hand was burning, and expected to see flames running all over it.
    The ticket collector was in the booking office, and she could not find anyone to show her ticket to. But as she gave up waiting and went through the gate on to the platform, he came out and clipped her ticket. It was soaking wet and he tore the edge a little.
    The train came in on time and stood at the platform for a minute or so. The carriages had a corridor running down the middle of them, with the seats on each side of it in groups of four round a table. There were perhaps ten or fifteen people in each carriage. Elizabeth sat on the left-hand side facing the engine.
    The railway line ran along the coast for about ten miles before turning inland. It had stopped raining now and patches of starry sky showed between the racing clouds. The moon seemed to strain against the wind to hold still. Elizabeth leaned back and watched it, resting her cheek on her hand.
    She felt at ease, fed and warm. The heating-pipes under the seat would soon dry her coat out. She was balanced.
    A small group of fishermen’s huts in the distance was lit brightly and surprisingly by the moon. There was no-one near them, and perhaps they were totally empty. Later on she saw a barn in a field, standing away from the rest of the farm buildings. It was dark and enclosed, but she felt that at any moment someone might light a lantern and go out to it, and perhaps even put a paraffin stove in there to warm it up.
    She could see a light flashing at regular intervals far out at sea. It was a lightship, and it was anchored near a wide stretch of shoals and treacherous sandbanks. The railway line ran along a high embankment of stones set a little way back from the beach. When the tide was in and a high wind was blowing off the sea the side of the train was soaked with spray that dashed against the windows. The tide was going out now, and the wind was dropping.
    If she were rich, she would lay this panorama in front of her lover, for him to sleep in and dream. But which lover? Now she no longer knew who her lover was; and for the moment she craved for nothing. She herself could go to sleep, if she chose to. And because she craved for nothing, she was not unhappy when the train turned away from the coast and went inland.
    It was travelling fast. Telegraph posts flashed by invisibly like tokens of regret. If she regretted anything it was not having let him speak. There would have been so much for him to say to her! And she would nod dumbly, entranced, and beg him to kiss her again.
    Two women on the other side of the carriage were talking, about the cousin of one of them, and her baby. He was called Peter and his father was a plumber. Elizabeth listened to them for a while. They talked quietly, slitting side by side without moving.
    Just before it left the coast the train passed a wide estuary with a long low island in it where thousands of water-birds had their nests. In countless trees inland owls would be stirring and haunting the air with their cries.
    There was no fear in the world at the moment, and no darkness. Darkness was caused by distance, for all things shone with their own light, and if she could not see them, it was only because they were too far away and not because it was dark. She had seen his face well enough, hadn’t she? It was the same with fear. Things had their own benedictions and reassurances. It was only when you couldn’t see them that you began to be afraid. He had blessed her with his hand and faithfully observed her