so is the whole
house.

This finished the report.

"So Mr. Searles has had his own experiences of these Mysteries!" I
exclaimed.

"As you see. Perhaps that is why he is so touchy on the subject."

"Did he ever give you any fuller account of his experience than is
detailed here?"

"No; he won't talk about it."

"He tried to let the house, however."

"Yes, but he did not succeed for a long time. Finally the mayor took
it."

Refolding the paper, I handed it back to Mr. Robinson. I had its
contents well in mind.

"There is one fact to which I should like to call your attention," said
I. "The manifestations, as here recorded, have all taken place in the
lower part of the house. I should have had more faith in them, if they
had occurred above stairs. There are no outlets through the roof."

"Nor any visible ones below. At least no visible one was ever found
open."

"What about the woman, Bess?" I asked. "How do you account for her
persistency in clinging to a place her employers invariably fled from?
She seems to have been always on hand with an offer of her services."

"Bess is not a young woman, but she is a worker of uncommon ability,
very rigid and very stoical. She herself accounts for her willingness to
work in this house by her utter disbelief in spirits, and the fact that
it is the one place in the world which connects her with her wandering
and worthless husband. Their final parting occurred during Mr.
Dennison's tenancy, and as she had given the wanderer the Franklin
Street address, you could not reason her out of the belief that on his
return he would expect to find here there. That is what she explained to
Mr. Searles."

"You interest me, Mr. Robinson. Is she a plain woman? Such a one as a
man would not be likely to return to?"

"No, she is a very good-looking woman, refined and full of character,
but odd, very odd,--in fact, baffling."

"How baffling?"

"I never knew her to look any one directly in the eye. Her manner is
abstracted and inspires distrust. There is also a marked incongruity
between her employment and her general appearance. She looks out of
place in her working apron, yet she is not what you would call a lady."

"Did her husband come back?"

"No, not to my knowledge."

"And where is she now?"

"Very near you, Miss Saunders, when you are at your home in Franklin
Street. Not being able to obtain a situation in the house itself, she
has rented the little shop opposite,