lone? Until now, she had supposed so, in spite of the
woman's remarks about "Jack," for she had heard not the slightest sound.
Presently she became aware of a slow, regular scraping sound, that
seemed to come from one of the rear rooms. It suggested something alive,
something moving about with stealthy footsteps. Then, all of a sudden,
there came a loud crash.

Grace gave an involuntary cry, or what would have been a cry, had she
not been so effectually gagged. The knowledge that she lay helpless,
unable to protect herself from attack, frightened her. She turned her
head, straining her eyes into the semi-darkness. Something, some figure,
was moving toward her from the bedroom, gliding along with swaying,
noiseless steps. What it was, she could not determine; from its
appearance against the darkness of the doorway it looked like a crawling
figure in black.

Presently she heard the sound of breathing, and with it a mumbling
noise, as though the apparition were talking to itself. Two eyes seemed
to gleam through the darkness. There was a hissing yet guttural sound,
human in quality, yet horrible to her ears.

And then, without warning, the figure sprang toward her, and flung its
arms about her neck.

With a gasp of fear, Grace turned and buried her face in the pillows.
Fingers seemed clutching at her hair. An arm, wearing a silken sleeve,
brushed her cheek, lay across her throat. A low voice muttered
unintelligibly in her ear, filling her with horror. She felt her senses
reeling. She thought herself about to faint.

Then, in a moment, the creature was gone, and she heard it moving
noisily about the further end of the room.

From time to time there came a crash, as though in the darkness it had
upset something. Then would follow long, uncanny periods of stillness,
broken only by the horrible muttering. She lay with her head buried in
the pillows, wondering at what instant the figure would again appear at
her side.

For a long time she remained thus, straining her ears to keep track of
the creature's movements. And as the moments passed, she began to take
courage, to hope that since no harm had as yet been offered her, the
_thing_ in the room, whatever it was, might not come near her again.

It appeared to have crept to the door, and from it came a low, quite
human whimpering, as though it were in great grief. Perhaps, Grace
thought, this was caused by the absence of the two women. She lay quite
still, trying vainl