the determination that whatever
was in his mind, or in the minds of the men whose counsels he
undoubtedly shared, I was going to make one more great effort on my
own account; not to solve the main mystery, which had passed out of
my hands, but to reach the hidden cause of the equally unexplained
deaths which had occurred from time to time at the library fireplace.

For nothing could now persuade me that the two mysteries were not
indissolubly connected, or that the elucidation of the one would not
lead to the elucidation of the other.

To be sure, it was well accepted at headquarters that all possible
attempts had been made in this direction and with nothing but
failure as a result. The floor, the hearth, the chimney, and, above
all, the old settle, had been thoroughly searched. But to no avail.
The secret had not been reached and had almost come to be looked
upon as insolvable.

But I was not one to be affected by other men's failures. The
encouragement afforded me by my late discoveries was such that I
felt confident that nothing could hinder my success save the
necessity of completely pulling down the house. Besides, all
investigation had hitherto started, if it had not ended, in the
library. I was resolved to begin work in quite a different spot.
I had not forgotten the sensations I had experienced in the
southwest chamber.

During my absence this house had been released from surveillance.
But the major still held the keys and I had no difficulty in
obtaining them. The next thing was to escape its owner's vigilance.
This I managed to do through the assistance of Jinny, and when
midnight came and all lights went out in the opposite cottage I
entered boldly upon the scene.

As before, I went first of all to the library. It was important
to know at the outset that this room was in its normal condition.
But this was not my only reason for prefacing my new efforts by a
visit to this scene of death and mysterious horror. I had another,
so seemingly puerile, that I almost hesitate to mention it and
would not if the sequel warranted its omission.

I wished to make certain that I had exhausted every suspected, as
well as every known clue, to the information I sought. In my long
journey home and the hours of thought it had forced upon me, I had
more than once been visited by flitting visions of things seen in
this old house and afterward nearly forgotten. Among these was
the book which on that first night