Premise: They looked for the signs of death at every door -- the sexton , the hearse , the assemblage of black-clad relatives , all that makes up the woeful pomp of funerals .<br>They raised their eyes , also , to the sun-gilt spire of the church , and wondered that no clang proceeded from its bell , which had always tolled till now when this figure appeared in the light of day .<br>But none had heard that a corpse was to be borne to its home that afternoon , nor was there any token of a funeral except the apparition of the Old Maid in the Winding-Sheet .<br>`` What may this portend ? ''
Hypothesis: They looked for signs of life, not death.