But to no avail.
The secret had not been reached and had almost come to be looked
upon as insolvable.
But I was not one to be affected by other men's failures. The
encouragement afforded me by my late discoveries was such that I
felt confident that nothing could hinder my success save the
necessity of completely pulling down the house. Besides, all
investigation had hitherto started, if it had not ended, in the
library. I was resolved to begin work in quite a different spot.
I had not forgotten the sensations I had experienced in the
southwest chamber.
During my absence this house had been released from surveillance.
But the major still held the keys and I had no difficulty in
obtaining them. The next thing was to escape its owner's vigilance.
This I managed to do through the assistance of Jinny, and when
midnight came and all lights went out in the opposite cottage I
entered boldly upon the scene.
As before, I went first of all to the library. It was important
to know at the outset that this room was in its normal condition.
But this was not my only reason for prefacing my new efforts by a
visit to this scene of death and mysterious horror. I had another,
so seemingly puerile, that I almost hesitate to mention it and
would not if the sequel warranted its omission.
Pages:
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263