"Perhaps if they knew, as I do, that you owned the property, they would
be content to stay, for ever, in Sorona."

"Prettily said," she answered. Then the room became silent, and I heard
her heavy breathing, like the deep purr of a cat.

"They come and go," she said at last.

"And, when they go, you sell to another?" I asked.

"Naturally, and with the hope that one will stay."

"I have come for the key," I said bluntly, "the key to the cellar door."

"Are you sure you want it?"

"Absolutely! It is my villa and my cellar and my door. I want the key. I
want to see what is on the other side of the door."

And then it was that I saw the pupils of her eyes narrow to livid slits.
She looked at me for a second, for five, and then opening a drawer in a
cabinet near her chair, she took out the key and handed it to me. It was
a tool worthy of the door that it was supposed to open, being fully
eight inches long and a pound in weight.

Taking it, I thanked her and said good-bye. Fifteen minutes later I was
back, profuse in my apologies: I was temperamental, I explained, and I
frequently changed my mind. Whatever was on the other side of the door
could stay there, as far as I was concerned. Then again I kissed her
hand farewell.

On the side street I passed through the door of a locksmith and waited
while he completed a key. He was following a wax impression of the
original key. An hour later I was on the way back to the villa, with the
key in my pocket, a key that I was sure would unlock the door, and I was
confident that the lady with the cat eyes felt sure that I had lost all
interest in that door and what was beyond it.

The full moon was just appearing over the mountains when I drove my car
up to the villa. I was tired, but happy. Taking the candlestick in my
hand, which candlestick was handed to me with a deep bow by the old
woman, I ascended the stairs to my bedroom. And soon I was fast asleep.

* * * * *

I awoke with a start. The moon was still shining. It was midnight. I
heard, or thought I heard, a deep moaning. It sounded a little like
waves beating on a rockbound coast. Then it ceased and was replaced by a
musical element that came in certain stately measures. Those sounds were
in the room, but they came from far away; only by straining my sense of
sound to the utmost could I hear anything.

Slippers on my feet, flashlight in my hand and the key in the pocket of
my dress