A faded moonbeam fell on the floor, and filled the place with an ancient dream-light, which wrought strangely on my brain, and filled it, as if it, too, were but a deserted, sleepy house, haunted by old dreams and memories. Recollecting myself, I went back for a light; but the candles were both flickering in the sockets, and I was compelled to trust to the moon. I ascended the staircase. Old as it was, not a board creaked, not a banister shook—the whole felt solid as rock. Finding, at length, no more stair to ascend, I groped my way on; for here there was no direct light from the moon—only the light of the moonlit air. I was in some trepidation, I confess; for how should I find my way back? At length, after wandering into several rooms and out again, my hand fell on a latched door Which statement best describes the effect of the underlined passage?

A.
It quickens the pacing of the narrative, leading directly to a confrontation.
B.
It creates tension by showing the narrator’s mad rush through the house.
C.
It slows the pacing of the narrative, helping build mystery and suspense.
D.
It provides exposition through a flashback about a dream the narrator once had.