The fourth remained seated in the wagon. 'Come,'
said one of his companions, approaching him, while
the others moved away in the direction of the dwell-
ing--'this is the place.'
The man addressed did not move. 'By God!' he
said harshly, 'this is a trick, and it looks to me as
if you were in it.'
'Perhaps I am,' the other said, looking him
straight in the face and speaking in a tone which had
something of contempt in it. 'You will remember,
however, that the choice of place was with your own
assent left to the other side. Of course if you are
afraid of spooks--'
'I am afraid of nothing,' the man interrupted with
another oath, and sprang to the ground. The two
then joined the others at the door, which one of
them had already opened with some difficulty, caused
by rust of lock and hinge. All entered. Inside it was
dark, but the man who had unlocked the door pro-
duced a candle and matches and made a light. He
then unlocked a door on their right as they stood in
the passage. This gave them entrance to a large,
square room that the candle but dimly lighted. The
floor had a thick carpeting of dust, which partly muf-
fled their footfalls. Cobwebs were in the angles of
the walls and depended from the ceiling like strips
of rotting lace, making undulatory movements in the
disturbed air. The room had two windows in adjoin-
ing sides, but from neither could anything be seen
except the rough inner surfaces of boards a few
inches from the glass.
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