ned. It seemed to be held open for nearly a minute, as though
some one were standing there listening. She moved a little and the bed
creaked; and then, as gently as it had been opened, the door was closed
again.

Had the intruder come through or gone away? And could it only be
the master, doing this curious thing, or was it some one--or
something--else? Dreadful minutes passed, but there was not a sound of
any one moving in the back passage, or the kitchen, and then in the
distance she could hear the grating noise of the front door being opened
and the rush of wind that accompanied it. It was closed sharply in a
moment and she could catch the sound of steps in the hall and the
master's voice making some remark. Another voice replied, gruff and
muffled and indistinct, and then again the master spoke. Evidently the
late caller had arrived, and a moment later she heard the library door
shut, and it was plain that he and Mr. Rattar were closeted there.

They seemed to remain in the library about a quarter of an hour before
the door opened again, and in a moment the stairs were creaking faintly.
Evidently one or both were going up for the old papers.

All this was exactly what she had been led to expect, and ought to
have reassured her, yet, for no reason at all, the conviction remained
as intense and disturbing as ever, that something unspeakable was
happening in this respectable house. The minutes dragged by till quite
half an hour must have passed, and then she heard the steps descending.
They came down very slowly this time, and very heavily. The obvious
explanation was that they were bringing down one of those boxes filled
with dusty papers which she had often seen in the closed rooms; yet
though Mary knew perfectly that this was the common sense of the matter,
a feeling of horror increased till she could scarcely refrain from
crying out. If cook had not such a quick temper and such a healthy
contempt for this kind of fancy, she would have rushed across to her
bed; but as it was, she simply lay and trembled.

The steps sounded still heavy but more muffled on the hall carpet,
though whether they were the steps of one man or two she could not feel
sure. And then she heard the front door open again and then close; so
that it seemed plain that the visitor had taken the box with him and
gone away. And with this departure came a sense of relief, as devoid of
rational foundation as the sense of horror before. She felt at la