n the stairs or in the dimly-lighted hallways.

Had a place been sought for wherein the utmost secrecy might be
observed, surely this was that place. As I neared the door upon which I
read the doctor's name, I found myself treading on tip-toe, so impressed
had I become by a sense of caution, if not of dread.

I had made every effort to be on hand at precisely ten o'clock, and felt
so sure that I had been the first to arrive that I reached out to the
door-knob with every expectation of entering, unseen by any one, and
possibly unheard. To my dismay, the first twist I gave it resulted in a
rusty shriek that set my teeth on edge, and echoed down the gloomy hall.
With my flesh creeping, I opened the door and passed into the doctor's
outer room.

It was far from being empty. Seated in chairs ranged along two sides of
the room, I saw a dozen or more persons, male and female. All wore the
preoccupied air that patients are apt to assume while awaiting their
turn to be called by the doctor. One amongst the number made an effort
at indifference by drawing out and pushing back a nail in the flooring
with the sole of her pretty shoe. It may have been intended for
coquetry, and at another time might have bewitched me; now it seemed
strangely out of place. The man who was to all appearance counting the
flies in the web of an industrious spider was more in keeping with the
place, my feelings, and the atmosphere of despondency that the room gave
out.

As I had no doubt that the ring I was seeking was in the possession of
some one of these persons, I gave each as minute an examination as was
possible under the circumstances. Only two amongst them appeared open to
suspicion. Of these, one was a young man whose naturally fine features
would have prepossessed him in my favor had it not been for the peculiar
alertness of his bright blue eye, which flashed incessantly in every
direction till each and all of us seemed to partake of his restlessness
and anxiety. Why was he not depressed? The other was the girl, or,
rather, the young lady to whose pretty foot I have referred. If she was
at all conspicuous, it was owing to the contrast between her beautiful
face and the Quaker-like simplicity of her dress. She was restless also;
her foot had ceased its action, but her hand moved constantly. Now
it clutched its fellow in her lap, and now it ran in an oft-repeated
action, seemingly beyond her control, up and down and round and round a
plain bu