Answer:
The Whites were concerned that their guest may not come after all because it was raining hard outside and their house so far out to be reached easily.
Explanation:
W. W. Jacobs' short story "The Monkey's Paw" is a horror story about a magical monkey's paw that can grant three wishes to its owner. This magic talisman would turn out to be the source of their utmost horror and grief.
At the beginning of the story, the narrator explains that it was raining hard, "the night was cold and wet" and the Whites were huddled near the fireplace. Mr. White and his son Herbert were playing chess while the lady of the house Mrs. White was knitting. They were waiting for their friend "Sergeant-Major Morris" who had told them about "a monkey’s paw or something". But with the heavy shower, rendering people unable to "walk on the footpath without getting stuck in the mud, and the road’s a river" and the isolated location of their cottage, they didn't think he would come after all.
