beautiful girl long ago. You know the sort of thing. It's always told about old houses. The point is, I saw that veiled woman last night, and she gave me rather too much evidence of spirituality."
"Why do you connect a ghost with anarchists?" the inspector demanded.
"Because," Alsop answered, perfectly seriously, "I believe the thing was after my papers."
Garth laughed outright.
"Then why suspect your visitor of being a ghost?"
"Because," Alsop said patiently, "this visitor had every appearance of walking through a locked door."
Nora alone was thoroughly impressed.
"Tell us," she urged.
"I've a safe in my room," Alsop said, "and as an extra precaution, when I've had important papers at the house, I've locked my door. I went upstairs late last night. There was no light in the upper hall, but a glow came from the lamps downstairs. In this sort of radiance I saw the figure of a woman, clothed in white, her face hidden behind a white veil, come apparently from my room, cross the hall, and disappear. I cried out. I sprang for the door. It was locked. Marvin and I searched the house. My daughters are in Florida. The only women in the place were servants. There seemed no way in or out of the house without the collusion of one of these. And I've had them a long time. It's hard to suspect them. Besides, Marvin has had much the same experience. Tell them, Arthur."
