into one another, and they walked through many till they came back into the hall. They had all a desolate, uninhabited air. Their sombreness was increased by the oak with which they were pannelled. There was pannelling in the hall too, and on the stairs that led broadly to the top of the house. As they ascended Arthur stopped for one moment and passed his hand over the polished wood.
“It would burn like tinder,” he said.
They went through the rooms on the first floor, and they were as empty and as cheerless. Presently they came to that which had been Margaret’s. In a bowl were dead flowers. Her brushes were still on the toilet table. But it was a gloomy chamber, with its dark oak, and so comfortless that Susie shuddered. Arthur stood for a time and looked at it, but he said nothing. They found themselves again on the stairs and they went to the second story. But here they seemed to be at the top of the house.
“How does one get up to the attics?” said Arthur, looking about him with surprise.
He paused for a while to think. Then he nodded his head.
“There must be some steps leading out of one of the rooms.”
They went on. And now the ceilings were much lower, with heavy beams, and there was no furniture at all. The emptiness seemed to make everything more terrifying. They felt that they were on the threshold of a great mystery, and Susie’s heart began to beat very fast. Arthur conducted his examina-
