I
had one of the unused bedrooms in the east wing, back along the
small corridor, prepared for occupancy, and from that time on,
Alex, the gardener, slept there. One man in that barn of a house
was an absurdity, with things happening all the time, and I must
say that Alex was as unobjectionable as any one could possibly
have been.
The next morning, also, Halsey and I made an exhaustive
examination of the circular staircase, the small entry at its
foot, and the card-room opening from it. There was no evidence
of anything unusual the night before, and had we not ourselves
heard the rapping noises, I should have felt that Louise's
imagination had run away with her. The outer door was closed and
locked, and the staircase curved above us, for all the world like
any other staircase.
Halsey, who had never taken seriously my account of the night
Liddy and I were there alone, was grave enough now. He examined
the paneling of the wainscoting above and below the stairs,
evidently looking for a secret door, and suddenly there flashed
into my mind the recollection of a scrap of paper that Mr.
Jamieson had found among Arnold Armstrong's effects. As nearly
as possible I repeated its contents to him, while Halsey took
them down in a note-book.
"I wish you had told me that before," he said, as he put the
memorandum carefully away. We found nothing at all in the house,
and I expected little from any examination of the porch and
grounds. But as we opened the outer door something fell into the
entry with a clatter.
Pages:
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138