what Mrs. Bernard had said below. Could there be any truth in her
questioning of the motives actuating the man who had sent us here? Had
we come--mere pawns in some game of crime--deceived, perhaps betrayed
to arrest? Was Coombs here merely to watch us, and report to Neale and
Vail how we carried out our part of the bargain? The affair certainly
looked altogether different now I was upon the ground, although I could
figure out no possible object those men could have. At least they
could accomplish nothing without my cooperation, and, if I discovered
any evil afoot, I could block them instantly. I was there to save this
property for the rightful heir, and was determined now to see that
Philip Henley received all that was due him. It was after one o'clock
before I fell into a drowsy sleep.

Indeed, it hardly seemed to me that I had entirely lost consciousness,
when I was jerked bolt upright by the sharp report of a firearm. For a
single instant I imagined the shot fired within my room; then I sprang
to the door, and flung it open, peering out into the hall. Everything
was still, the rays from my lamp barely extending to the head of the
stairs. I could neither see, nor hear anything, and yet I had a
strange premonition that I was not alone. There was an automatic
revolver in the pocket of my coat, and I stepped back after it, picking
up the lamp on my return, determined on a thorough examination of the
upper story. There was no doubt about the shot--the sound was no
effect of a dream. I wondered if the girl had been awakened by the
report, and paused to listen at her door, but no sound reached me from
within. The thought that she might have discharged the weapon occurred
to my mind, but was as instantly dismissed, as I was convinced she
possessed nothing of the kind.

I moved down the hall cautiously, regretting the need of a lamp, but