' the jungle strain has come out at
last.' Oh, it was somethink dreadful to hear her laughin' at her
cleverness. I----"

"Please, please, don't repeat any more of these horrible things,"
cried the girl, for the strain was becoming unbearable.

"I agree with you, miss. They aren't fit to be spoke of; an' I say,
with all due respec', that they shouldn't be allowed to leak out. You
know what young maid servants are like. They're bound to chatter. My
idee is that another nurse should be engaged tomorrow, a woman old
enough to hold her tongue an' mind her own business; then the two of
us can take turns at duty, so as to keep them housemaids out of the
way altogether."

"Yes, I'm sure you are right. I'll speak to Mr. Hilton in the morning.
Thank you, Parker. I see now that you meant well, and I'm sorry if I
spoke sharply."

"I'm not surprised, miss. It was not a pleasant thing to have to say,
nor for you to hear, but duty is duty. Good night, miss, I hope
you'll sleep well."

Sleep! Parker should not have conjured up a new apparition if Sylvia
were to seek the solace of untroubled rest. At present the girl felt
that she had never before been so distressfully awake. Splendidly
vital in mind and body as she was, she almost yielded now to a morbid
horror of her environment. Generations of men and women had lived and
died in that ancient house, and tonight dim shapes seemed to throng
its chambers and corridors. Physically fearless, she owned to a
feminine dread of the unknown. It would be a relief to get away from
this abode of grief and mystery. The fantastic dreaming of the unhappy
creature crooning memories of a past life and a lost husband had
unnerved her. She resolved to seek the fresh air, and wander through
gardens and park until the fever in her mind had abated.

Now a rule of the house ordained that all doors should be locked and
lower windows latched at midnight. A night watchman made certain
rounds each hour, pressing a key into indicating-clocks at various
points to show that he had been alert. Mortimer Fenley had been afraid
of fire; there was so much old woodwork in the building that it would
burn readily, and a short circuit in the electrical installation was
always possible, though every device had been adopted to render it not
only improbable but harmless. After midnight the door bells and
others communicated with a switchboard in the watchman's room; and a
burglary alarm, which the man adjusted during h