The servants might discuss the fact that I, a newcomer, had rearranged the furniture. Something had happened the previous night that had kept me wakeful and restless. It had happened soon after Melinda had departed, for after I had moved the chest into position I saw that my arms and hands were grimy from dust that had gathered in the wrought-iron binding. Evidently Mrs. Kinnefer’s eagle eye had missed these signs of neglect on the part of her staff. I had decided it was time for the belated freshen-up that Mrs. Kinnefer had spoken of and had taken my sponge-bag and gone into the corridor. But as I had wandered along past what seemed to me a vast number of closed doors I had realized that I hadn’t the smallest idea where the nearest bathroom was, and the house appeared even larger than it did from outside. Deadly silence seemed to hover over the long deserted corridors so that I had felt as if I were alone in a vast, still world. What lay behind those closed doors? I had wondered. What ancient secrets did the old house harbour during its hundreds of years?
