, 1910-09-22
where, HowY" she yelled yoeAfer-

There's somebody In the house." I
said. Get up. Wen have to 20 to
the telephone
mot out in the hall!" she gasped:
"Oh, Miss Rachel. not out in the
hall!" trying to hold me back. But l
am . large woman and Liddy IL small.
We got to the door, somehow. and
Lfddy held q brass andiron, which Il
was all she could do to lift, let alone
brain anybody with. I listened. and,
hearing nothing, opened the door a
little and psered into the hall. 1t was
. black void, full of terrible sugges-
ton, and my candle only emphasized
the gloom. Liddy squealed and drew
me back again, and as the door
slammed, the mirror I had put on the
transom came down and hit her on
the head. That completed our de-
moralization. It was some time before
/ could persuade her she had not been
attacked from behind by a burglar.
and when she found the mirror
smashed On the floor she wasn't much
better.
There's going to be a DEATH" she
walled. "Oh, Miss Rachel, there's 60
ing to be q death!"
There will be-" I said srimly. "if
o don't keep quiet, Liddy Allen"
And 80 we sat there until morning.
wondering II the candle would last
until dawn, and arranging what trains
we could take back to town. II we had
only stuck to that decision and gone
back before 1t was too latei
The sun came finally, and from my
window I watched the trees along the
drive take shadowy form. gradually
lose their ghostlike appearance. be-
come gray and then green. The
Greenwood club showed itself q dab
Of white against the hill across the
valley. n an early robin or two
hoped around in the dew. Not un-
til the milk-boy and the sun came,
about the same time. did 1 dare to
open the door into the hall and look
around. Everything was al we had
left It. Trunks were heaped here and
there. ready for the trunk-room, and
through an end window of stained
glass came a streak of red and yell
low daylight that was eminently
cheerful. The milk-boy was pound
ing somewhere below. and the day
had begun.
Thomas Johnson came ambling up
the drive about half past six, and we
could heal him gathering around on
the lower floor. opening shutters. l
had to take Liddy to her room up
stairs, however-she was quite sure
she would find something uncanny. In
fact. when she did not. having now
the courage of daylight, she was actu-
ally disappointed.
Well. we did not 60 back to town
that day.
I warned Liddy not to mention what
had happened to anybody. and tele-
phoned to town for servants. Then,
after a breakfast which did more
credit to Thomas heart than his head,
| went on a short tour of investiga-
ton. The sounds had come from the
east wing, and not without some
qualms / began there. At first 1 found
nothing. Since then 1 have developed
my powers Of observation, but at that
time l was a novice. The small card
room seemed undisturbed. I looked for
footprints, which is, I believe. the con-
ventional thing to Dc, although my
experience has been that as clews
both footprints and thumb-marks are
more useful in fiction than In fact.
But the stairs in that wing offered
something.
At the top Of the flight had been
placed a tall wicker hamper, packed
with linen that had come from town.
1t stood at the edge Of the top step,
almost barring passage, and on the
step below It was a long, fresh
scratch. For three steps the scratch
was repeated, gradually diminishing.
as II some object had fallen. striking
each one. Then for four steps nothing.
On the fifth step below was a round
dent in the hard wood. That was all.
and It seemed little enough, except
that l was positive the marks had not
beer there the day before.
1t bore out my theory Of the sound.
which had been for all the world like
the humping of a metallic object down
a flight of steps. The four steps had
been skipped. l reasoned that an iron
bar. for instance. would do something
of the sort-strike two or three steps,
end down, hen turn over. jumping .
few stairs, and landing with a thud.
Iron bars, however, do not fall
downstairs in the middle Of the night
alone. Coupled with the figure on the
veranda the agency by which 1t
climbed might be assumed. But-and
here was the thing that puzzled me
most-the doors were all fastened
that morning. the windows unmolest-
cd. and the particular door from the
card room to the veranda had a com
bination lock Of which l held the key,
and which had not been tempered
with.
1 fixed on an attempt at burglary.
As the most natural explanation-an