that--unless, indeed, he knew of the murder before he left the
grounds. That thought gave me a sudden shock, and I put it away from
me, not daring to pursue it farther.

As to the house, its deserted condition seemed sinister and
threatening. It was absurd to suppose that an establishment such as
this could be carried on without servants, or with less than three or
four. But where were they? And then I remembered that Godfrey and I
had not completed our exploration of the house. We had stopped at the
gruesome room where the adept and his serpent gazed unwinking into the
crystal sphere. There was at least one suite on the same floor we had
not looked into, and no doubt there were other rooms on the attic
floor above. But that any one could have slept on undisturbed by those
piercing screams and by our own comings and goings seemed
unbelievable. Perhaps there were separate quarters in the grounds
somewhere--

And then, without conscious will of my own, I felt my body stiffen and
my fingers grip my pipe convulsively. A slow tremor seemed to start
from the end of my spine, travel up it, and pass off across my scalp.
There was someone in the room behind me; someone with gleaming eyes
fixed upon me; and I sat there rigidly, straining my ears, expecting
I knew not what--a blow upon the head, a cord about the neck.

A rapid step came up the walk and Godfrey appeared suddenly out of the
darkness.

"Well, Lester," he began; but I sprang to my feet and faced the room,
for I could have sworn that I had heard behind me the rustle of a
silken dress. But there was no one there except Swain and Miss Vaughan