was all clear air and sun, the warm breeze
coming pleasantly into the cold stairway; presently Mark heard the
pattering of feet on the stair below, and knew that the old hound had
determined to follow him; and he waited a moment at the door, half
pleased, in his strange mood, to have the company of a living thing.
So when the dog was at his side, he stayed no longer, but opened the
door and stepped within the room.

The room, for all its faded look, had a strange air about it, and
though he could not say why, Mark felt that he was surely expected. He
did not hesitate, but walked to the shutter and considered it for a
moment; he heard a sound behind him. It was the old hound who sat with
his head aloft, sniffing the air uneasily; Mark called him and held
out his hand, but the hound would not move; he wagged his tail as
though to acknowledge that he was called, and then he returned to his
uneasy quest. Mark watched him for a moment, and saw that the old dog
had made up his mind that all was not well in the room, for he lay
down, gathering his legs under him, on the threshold, and watched his
master with frightened eyes, quivering visibly. Mark, no lighter of
heart, and in a kind of fearful haste, pulled the great staple off the
shutter and set it on the ground, and then wrenched the shutters back;
the space revealed was largely filled by old and dusty webs of
spiders, which Mark lightly tore down, using the staple of the
shutters to do this; it was with a strange shock of surprise that he
saw that the window was dark, or nearly so; it seemed as though there
were some further obstacle outside; yet Mark knew that from below the
leaded panes of the window were visible. He drew back for a moment,
but, unable to restrain his curiosity, wrenched the rusted casement
open. But still all was dark without; and there came in a gust of icy
wind from outside; it was as though something had passed him swiftly,
and he heard the old hound utter a strangled howl; then turning, he
saw him spring to his feet with his hair bristling and his teeth bare,
and next moment the dog turned and leapt out of the room.

Mark, left alone, tried to curb a tide of horror that swept through
his veins; he looked round at the room, flooded with the southerly
sunlight, and then he turned again to the dark window, and putting a
strong constraint upon himself, leaned out, and saw a thing which
bewildered him so strangely that he thought for a moment his sense