Answer: Yes, he was stone, stone dead.
I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many
minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His
eye would trouble me no more.
If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer
when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment
of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily
but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut
off the head and the arms and the legs.
I then took up three planks from the flooring of the
chamber and deposited all between the scantlings.
The narrators attempts to convince us of his sanity are highlighted in bold print. Unfortunately, the only thing his explanation succeed in doing is make us certain that he is mad.