them?"

"No. He will not notice." And she hurried me out, still eying me
breathlessly as if she half distrusted my composure.

"Come, Amelia," I now whispered in self-admonition, "the time for
exertion has come. Show this young woman, who is not much behind you in
self-control, some of the lighter phases of your character. Charm her,
Amelia, charm her, or you may live to rue this invasion into family
secrets more than you may like to acknowledge at the present moment."

A task of some difficulty, but I rejoice in difficult tasks, and before
another half-hour had passed, I had the satisfaction of seeing Miss
Knollys entirely restored to that state of placid melancholy which was
the natural expression of her calm but unhappy nature.

We visited the Shell Cabinet, the Blue Parlor, and another room, the
peculiarities of which I have forgotten. Frightened by the result of
leaving me to my own devices, she did not quit me for an instant, and
when, my curiosity quite satisfied, I hinted that a short nap in my own
room would rest me for the evening, she proceeded with me to the door of
my apartment.

"The locksmith whom I saw this morning has not kept his word," I
remarked as she was turning away.

"None of the tradesmen here do that," was her cold answer. "I have given
up expecting having any attention paid to my wants."

"Humph," thought I. "Another pleasant admission. Amelia Butterworth,
this has not been a cheerful day."

XVIII

THE SECOND NIGHT

I cannot say that I looked forward to the night with any very cheerful
anticipations. The locksmith having failed to keep his appointment, I
was likely to have no more protection against intrusion than I had had
the night before, and while I cannot say that I especially feared any
unwelcome entrance into my apartment, I should have gone to my rest with
a greater sense of satisfaction if a key had been in the lock and that
key had been turned by my own hand on my own side of the door.

The atmosphere of gloom which settled down over the household after the
evening meal, seemed like the warning note of something strange and evil
awaiting us. So marked was this, that many in my situation would have
further disturbed these girls by some allusion to the fact. But that was
not the role I had set myself to play at this crisis. I remembered what
Mr. Gryce had said about winning their confidence, and though the
turmoil evident in Lucetta's mind and the distraction visib