t he had refused
reporters admission to the house. The developments of the day had
tremendously altered things in one respect; for Alan, the night before,
had not thought of the intruder into the house as one who could claim
an ordinary right of entrance there; but now he knew him to be the one
who--except for Sherrill--might most naturally come to the house; one,
too, for whom Wassaquam appeared to grant a certain right of direction
of affairs there. So, at this thought, Alan moved angrily; the house
was his--Alan's. He had noted particularly, when Sherrill had showed
him the list of properties whose transfer to him Corvet had left at
Sherrill's discretion, that the house was not among them; and he had
understood that this was because Corvet had left Sherrill no discretion
as to the house. Corvet's direct, unconditional gift of the house by
deed to Alan had been one of Sherrill's reasons for believing that if
Corvet had left anything which could explain his disappearance, it
would be found in the house.

Unless Spearman had visited the house during the day and had obtained
what he had been searching for the night before--and Alan believed he
had not done that--it was still in the house. Alan's hands clenched;
he would not give Spearman such a chance as that again; and he himself
would continue his search of the house--exhaustively, room by room,
article of furniture by article of furniture.

Alan started and went quickly to the open door of his room, as he heard
voices now somewhere within the house. One of the voices he recognized
as Wassaquam's; the other indistinct, thick, accusing--was unknown to
him; it certainly was not Spearman's. He had not heard Wassaquam go
down-stairs, and he had not heard the doorbell, so he ran first to the
third floor; but the room where he had seen Wassaquam was empty. He
descended again swiftly to the first floor, and found Wassaquam
standing in the front hall, alone.

"Who was here, Judah?" Alan demanded.

"A man," the Indian answered stolidly. "He was drunk; I put him out."

"What did he come for?"

"He came to see Ben. I put him out; he is gone, Alan."

Alan flung open the front door and looked out, but he saw no one.

"What did he want of Mr. Corvet, Judah?"

"I do not know. I told him Ben was not here; he was angry, but he went
away."

"Has he ever come here before?"

"Yes; he comes twice."

"He has been here twice?"

"More than that; every year he comes