'but i hurried around the back of the staircase and started pushing and shoving as gently as i could towards the front door 'three minutes must have passed , and i had made it only so far as the newel post , when i saw him again , or thought i did for one terrible instant the brown-haired man i had seen in the mirror this time he was gazing at me over someone 's shoulder , as he stood in the front corner of the hall .