stealthily as the fear returned and grew, I
reached the door, pushed it open, and looked out on the landing. But
for a worm-eaten trunk and a line of old suits dangling from pegs
around the wall, it was bare. The little light filtered through a
cracked and discoloured window high up in the slope of the roof.
The stairhead lay a short two yards from me, to be reached by one
bold leap.

This, however, was not what I first saw; nay, how or when I saw it is
a wonder still. For, across the landing, a door faced me; and, as I
pushed mine open, this door had moved--was moving yet, as if to shut.

It did not quite shut. It came to a standstill when almost a foot
ajar. Beyond it I could see yet other suits of clothes hanging: and
among these lurked someone, watching me, perhaps, through the chink
by the hinges. I was sure of it--was almost sure I had seen a hand
on the edge of the door; a hand with a ring on one of its fingers,
and just the edge, and no more, of a black cuff.

For perhaps five seconds I endured it, my hair lifting: then, with
one sharp scream I dashed back into the room and across the corpse;
struggled for a moment with the window-sash; and flinging it up,
dropped out upon the leads.

Out there, in the restorative sunshine, my first thought was to crawl
away as fast and as far as possible; to reach some hiding-place where
I might lie down and pant, unpursued by the horrors of that house.
The roofs on my right were flat; I staggered along them, halting at
every few steps to lean a hand for support against one or other of
the chimney-stacks, now growing warm in the sunshine.

From the far side of one, as I leaned clinging, a man sprang up,
almost at my feet. It was Archie Plinlimmon again. He had been
flattening himself against its shadow; and at first--so white and
fierce was his face--I made sure he meant to hurl me over and on to
the street below.

"What do you want? What have you seen?" Though he spoke fiercely,
his teeth chattered. "Oh--it's you!" he exclaimed, recognising me
through my soot.

"Mr. Plinlimmon--" I began.

"I didn't do it. I didn't--" He broke off. "For Heaven's sake, how
are we to get down out of this?"

"There's no way on the street side," I answered, "unless--"

He took me up short. "The street? We can't go that way--it's as
much as my neck's worth. Yours, too."

"Mr. Trapp's waiting for me," I answered stupidly.

"Who knows who isn't waiting?" he snapped.