Stephen's night excursion to the other side of the tunnel is full of suspense. Although the adventure probably didn't last long, the meticulous description of its every detail slows its narrative pace and at the same time makes it very vivid. As a result, the reader gets engaged in the events and feels eager to find out what's going to happen next.
Before going out, Stephen sets his expectations high:"I should perform one simple heroic deed that would settle everything once and for all...One single heroic deed to lay at Keith's feet in the morning. And with that one blow, all my problems would be solved and all my weaknesses and errors wiped away as surely as all the defects of the day are dissolved by the moonlight". He hopes he will be able to find the piece of evidence they need to solve the case, and that his success will make all his problems fade. This creates suspense because we don't know if he's going to be able to succeed or not. Therefore, we will have to continue reading to find out what the result of his excursion was.
The description of the surroundings is another element that helps to build up an atmosphere of tension. All the details of the night are described carefully, and there is a special emphasis on its silence and darkness: "(...) a cool breath of air stirs and the moon sails behind a cloud. The delicate white world around me evaporates", "I listen. The rustle of the leaves, the murmur of the telegraph wires. My own breath. The distant barking of the dogs at the Cottages in the Lanes. Nothing else" "I'm looking into the blackness...The hard interior surfaces should give back a faint response to the tiny atmospheric breathings of the night, and no response is coming". The setting, therefore, paves the way for a thrilling adventure.
Another element that creates suspense is the fact that Stephen cannot see because of the darkness so he has to rely on his other senses. Vision solves our interpretation of our surroundings quickly. When the sense of sight cannot be used, the mind seems to take more time to decode the clues provided by the other senses. A clear example of this is the way in which Stephen finds out about the contents of the croquet box: "I put both hands very slowly and carefully back into the box. Cloth, yes... A lot of cloth... Different sorts of cloth... Some of it smooth, some of it fibrous... A hem... A button…Another button” It takes him time to realise that the croquet box is full of clothes because he has to deduce it by touching and feeling their textures. In this way, the narrator discloses information little by little, and we feel as if we were discovering it with Stephen.
A further example of how the use of the senses works in this extract is the description of his experience with the mysterious man. As Stephen cannot see, he relies on his sense of hearing to interpret what is going on. He realises the man is approaching the box because he can hear his muffled moves. He can even deduce what he looks like because of the subdued sounds he makes: “I can hear the maleness of his level breathing. A grown man- I can hear the size of him.” Describing his movements though auditory images slows the narrative pace and contributes to create the impression that every second counts as an eternity.
The narrative techniques used in this part of the chapter make the events very vivid. We feel as if we were living the experience with Stephen and we share his tension and distress all along.
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