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Speaker 1: The Empty House by Algernon Blackwood. Certain houses, like certain persons,

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manage somehow to proclaim at once their character for evil.

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In the case of the latter, no particular feature need

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betray them. They may boast an open countenance and an

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ingenious smile, and yet a little of their company leaves

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the unalterable conviction that there is something radically amiss with

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their being, that they are evil. Willy nilly. They seem

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to communicate an atmosphere of secret and wicked thoughts, which

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makes those in their immediate neighborhood shrink from them, as

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from a thing diseased. Perhaps with houses, the same principle

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as operative. And it is the aroma of evil deeds

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committed under a particular roof, long after the actual doers

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have passed away, that makes the goose flesh come and

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the hair rise. Something of the original passion of the

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evil doer, and of the horror felt by his victim,

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enters the heart of the innocent watcher, and he becomes

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suddenly conscious of tingling nerves, creeping skin, and a chilling

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of the blood. He is terror stricken without apparent cause.

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There was manifestly nothing in the external appearance of this house,

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to bear out the tails of the horror that was

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said to rain within, it was neither lonely nor unkempt.

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It stood crowded into a corner of the square and

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looked exactly like the houses on either side of it.

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It had the same number of windows as its neighbors,

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the same balcony overlooking the gardens, the same white steps

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leading up to the heavy black front door, and in

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the rear there was the same narrow strip of green

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with neat box borders running up to the wall that

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divided it from the backs of the adjoining houses. Apparently, too,

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the number of chimney pots on the roof was the same,

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the breadth and angle of the eaves, and even the

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height of the dirty area railings. And yet this house

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in the square that seemed precisely similar to its fifty

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ugly neighbors, was, as a matter of fact, entirely different,

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horribly different. Wherein lay this marked, invisible difference is impossible

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to say. It cannot be ascribed wholly to the imagination,

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Because persons who had spent some time in this house,

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knowing nothing of the facts, had declared positively that certain

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rooms were so disagreeable they would rather die than enter

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them again, and that the atmosphere of the whole house

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produced in them symptoms of genuine terror, while the series

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of innocent tenants who had tried to live in it

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and been forced to DeCamp at the shortest possible notice

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was indeed little less than a scandal in the town.

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When Shorthouse arrived to pay a week end visit to

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his aunt Julia in her little house on the sea

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front at the other end of town, he found her

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charge to the brim with mystery and excitement. He had

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only received her telegram that morning, and he had come

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anticipating boredom. But the moment he touched her hand and

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kissed her apple skin wrinkled cheek, he caught the first

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wave of her electrical condition. The impression deepened when he

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had learned that there were to be no other visitors,

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and that he had been telegraphed for with a very

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special object. Something was in the wind, and the something

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would doubtless bear fruit. For this elderly spinster aunt, with

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a mania for physical research, had brains as well as willpower,

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and by hook or by crook she usually managed to

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accomplish her ends. The revelation was made soon after tea,

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when she sidled close up to him as they paced

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slowly along the sea front in the dusk. I've got

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the keys, she announced, in a delighted yet half awesome voice,

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got them till Monday, the keys of the bathing machine,

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or he asked, innocently, looking from the sea to the town.

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Nothing brought her so quickly to the point as feigning stupidity. Neither,

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she whispered, I've got the keys of the haunted house

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in the square, and I'm going there to night. The

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shorthouse was conscious of the slightest possible tremor down his back.

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He dropped his teasing tone. Something in her voice and

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manner thrilled him. She was in earnest. But you can't

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go alone, he began. That's why I wired for you,

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she said, with decision. He turned to look at her.

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The ugly lined, enigmatical face was alive with excitement. There

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was the glow of genuine enthusiasm round it like a halo.

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Her eyes shone. He caught another wave of her excitement,

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and a second tremor, more marked than the first, accompanied it.

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Thanks Aunt Julia, he said, politely, Thanks awfully I should

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not dare to go quite alone, she went on, raising

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her voice. But with you I should enjoy it immensely.

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You're afraid of nothing, I know. Thanks so much, he

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said again. Er is anything likely to happen? A great

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deal has happened, she whispered, though it's been most cleverly

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hushed up. Three tenants have now come and gone in

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the last few months, and the house is said to

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be empty for good. Now. In spite of himself, Shorthouse

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became interested. His aunt was so very much in earnest.

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The house is very old, indeed, she went on. And

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the story, an unpleasant one, dates a long way back.

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It has to do with a murder committed by a

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jealous stableman who had some affair with the servant in

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the house. One night, he managed to secrete himself in

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the cellar, and when everyone was asleep, he crept upstairs

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to the servants quarters, chased the girl down to the

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next landing, and before anyone could come to the rescue,

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threw her bodily over the banisters into the hall below.

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And the stableman was caught, I believe, and hanged for murder.

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But it all happened a century ago. And I've not

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been able to get more details at the story. Shorthouse

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now felt his interest thoroughly aroused, but though he was

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not particularly nervous for himself, he hesitated a little on

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his aunt's account. On one condition, he said, at length,

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nothing will prevent my going. She said firmly, but I

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may as well hear your condition that you guarantee your

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power of self control if anything really horrible happens. I

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mean that you are sure you won't get too frightened, Jim,

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she said scornfully. I'm not young, I know, nor are

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my nerves. But with you I should be afraid of

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nothing in the world. This, of course settled it. Her.

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Shorthouse had no pretensions to being other than a very

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ordinary young man, and an appeal to his vanity was irresistible.

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He agreed to go instinctively. By a sort of subconscious preparation,

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he kept himself and his forces well in hand the

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whole evening, compelling an accumulative reserve of control by that

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nameless inward process of gradually putting all the emotions away

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and turning the key upon them, a process difficult to

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describe but wonderfully effective. As all men who have lived

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through severe trials of the inner man well understand later

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it stood him in good stead. But it was not

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until half past ten, when they stood in the hall well,

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in the glare of friendly lamps, still surrounded by comforting

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human influences, that he had to make the first call

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upon this store of collected strength. For once the door

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was closed and he saw the deserted, silent streets stretching

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away in the white moonlight before them, it came to

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him clearly that the real test that night would be

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in dealing with two fears instead of one. He would

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have to carry his aunt's fear as well as his own,

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And as he glanced down at her sphinxlike countenance and

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realized that it might assume no pleasant aspect in a

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rush of real terror, he felt satisfied with only one

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thing in the whole adventure, that he had the confidence

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in his own will and power to stand against any

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shock that might come. Slowly, they walked along the empty

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streets of the town. A bright autumn moon silvered the roofs,

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casting deep shadows. There was no breath of the wind,

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and the trees in the formal gardens by the sea

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front watched them silently as they passed along. To his

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aunt's occasional remarks, Shorthouse made no reply, realizing that she

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was simply surrounding herself with mental buffers, saying ordinary things

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to prevent herself thinking of extraordinary things. Few windows showed lights,

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and from scarcely a single chimney came smoke or sparks.

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Shorthouse had already begun to notice everything, even the smallest details. Presently,

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they stopped at the street corner and looked up at

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the name on the side of the house full in

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the moonlight, and with one accord, but without remark, turned

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into the square and crossed over to the side of

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it that lay in the shadow. The number of the

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house is thirteen, whispered a voice at his side, and

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neither of them made the obvious reference, but passed across

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the broad sheet of moonlight and began to march up

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the pavement in silence. It was about half way up

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the square that short House felt an arm slipped quietly

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but significantly into his own, and knew then that their

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adventure had begun in earnest, and that his companion was

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already yielding imperceptibly to the influences against them. She needed support.

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A few minutes later they stopped before a tall, narrow

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house that rose before them into the night, ugly in

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shape and painted a dingy white. Shutterless windows without blinds

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stared down upon them, shining here and there in the moonlight.

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There were weather streaks in the wall and cracks in

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the paint, and the balcony bulged out from the first

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floor a little unnaturally. But beyond this generally forlorn appearance

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of an unoccupied house, there was nothing at first sight

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to single out this particular mansion for the evil character

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it had most certainly acquired. Taking a look over their

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shoulders to make sure they had not been followed, they

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went boldly up the steps and stood against the huge

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black door that fronted them forbiddingly. But the first wave

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of nervousness was now upon them, and Shorthouse fumbled a

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long time with the key before he could fit it

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into the lock at all. For a moment, if truth

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were told, they both hoped it would not open, for

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they were prey to various unpleasant emotions. As they stood

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there on the threshold of their ghostly adventure, Shorthouse shuffling

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with the key, and hampered by the steady weight on

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his arm, certainly felt the solemnity of the moment. It

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was as if the whole world, for all experience, seemed

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at that instant, concentrated in his own consciousness, were listening

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to the grating noise of that key. A stray puff

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of wind wandering down down the empty street woke a

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momentary rustling in the trees behind them, but otherwise this

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rattling of the key was the only sound audible, And

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at last it turned in the lock, and the heavy

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door swung open and revealed a yawing gulf of darkness beyond.

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With a last glance at the moonlit square, they passed

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quickly in, and the door slammed behind them with a

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roar that echoed prodigiously through the empty halls and passages.

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But instantly with the echoes, another sound made itself hurt,

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and Aunt Julia leaned suddenly so heavily upon him that

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he had to take a step backwards to save himself

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from falling. A man had coughed so close beside them,

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so close that it seemed they must have been actually

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by his side in the darkness, with the possibility of

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practical jokes in his mind. Shorthouse at once swung his

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heavy stick in the direction of the sound, but it

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met nothing more solid than air. He heard his eyes

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to give a little gasp beside him. There's someone here,

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she whispered. I heard him be quiet, he said sternly.

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It was nothing but the noise of the front door. Oh,

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get a light, quick, she added, as her nephew, fumbling

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with a box of matches, opened it upside down and

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let them all fall with a rattle, on to the

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stone floor. The sound, however, was not repeated, and there

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was no evidence of retreating footsteps. In another minute, they

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had a candle burning, using an empty end of a

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cigar case as a holder, And when the first flare

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had died down, he held the improptu lamp aloft and

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surveyed the scene. And it was dreary enough in all conscience,

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For there is nothing more desolate in all the abodes

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of men than an unfinished house, dimly lit, silent and forsaken,

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and yet tenanted by rumor with the memories of evil

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and violent history. They were standing in a wide hallway.

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On their left was the open door of a spacious

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dining room, and in front the hall ran ever narrowing

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into a long dark passage that led apparently to the

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top of the kitchen stairs. The broad uncarpeted staircase rose

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in a sweep before them, everywhere draped in shadows, except

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for a single spot about half way up, where the

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moonlight came in through the window and fell on a

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bright patch on the boards. This shaft of light shed

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a faint radiance above and below it, lending to the

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objects within its reach a misty outline that was infinitely

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more suggestive and ghostly than complete darkness. Filtered moonlight always

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seemed to paint faces on the surrounding gloom. And a

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short house peered up into the well of darkness and

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thought of the countless empty rooms and passages in the

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upper heart of the old house. He caught himself longing

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again for the safety of the moonlit square or the cozy,

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bright drawing room they had left an hour before. Then,

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realizing that these thoughts were dangerous, he thrust them away

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again and summoned all his energy for concentration on the

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present aunt Julia. He said aloud severely. We must now

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go through the house from top to bottom and make

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a thorough search. The echoes of his voice died away

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slowly all over the building, and in the intense silence

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that followed, he turned to look at her. In the

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candle light. He saw that her face was already ghastly pale.

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But she dropped his arm for a moment and said

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00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:48,559
in a whisper, stepping close in front of him, I agree.

240
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,240
We must be sure there's no one hiding. That's the

241
00:15:51,279 --> 00:15:55,799
first thing. She spoke with evident effort, and he looked

242
00:15:55,799 --> 00:15:59,480
at her with admiration. You feel quite sure of yourself.

243
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,840
It's not too late, I think so, she whispered, her

244
00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:08,679
eyes shifting nervously towards the shadows behind. Quite sure. Only

245
00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:13,360
one thing, What's that? You must never leave me alone

246
00:16:13,519 --> 00:16:17,840
for an instant, as long as you understand that any

247
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,679
sound or appearance must be investigated at once, For to

248
00:16:21,759 --> 00:16:27,919
hesitate means to admit fear. That is fatal. Agreed, she said,

249
00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:32,960
a little shakily, after a moment's hesitation, I'll try arm

250
00:16:33,039 --> 00:16:36,320
in arm shorthouse, holding the dripping candle in the stick,

251
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,320
while his aunt carried the cloak over her shoulders. Figures

252
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:44,039
of utter comedy to all but themselves. They began a

253
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:49,799
systematic search, stealthily, walking on tiptoe and shading the candle

254
00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,000
lest it should betray their presence. Through the shutterless windows.

255
00:16:53,519 --> 00:16:56,960
They went first into the big dining room. There was

256
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,480
not a stick of furniture to be seen. The walls,

257
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:05,039
ugly mantle pieces, and empty grates stared at them. Everything

258
00:17:05,279 --> 00:17:09,920
they felt resented their intrusion, watching them as it were,

259
00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:15,960
with veiled eyes. Whispers followed them. Shadows flitted noiselessly to

260
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:21,440
the right and left. Something seemed ever at their back, watching,

261
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,119
waiting an opportunity to do them injury. There was the

262
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,000
inevitable sense that operations which went on when the room

263
00:17:30,079 --> 00:17:34,119
was empty had been temporarily suspended till they were well

264
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:38,160
out of the way again. The whole dark interior of

265
00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,640
the old building seemed to become a malignant presence that

266
00:17:41,839 --> 00:17:45,200
rose up, warning them to desist and mind their own

267
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:51,079
business every moment the strain on the nerves increased. Out

268
00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:54,240
of the gloomy dining room, they passed through large folding

269
00:17:54,279 --> 00:17:58,599
doors into a sort of librri or smoking room, wrapped

270
00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:03,920
equally in silence, darkness, and dust, And from this they

271
00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,759
regained the hall near the top of the back stairs.

272
00:18:07,759 --> 00:18:10,640
Here a pitch black tunnel opened before them into the

273
00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:16,279
lower regions, and it must be confessed. They hesitated, but

274
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,440
only for a minute. With the worst of the night

275
00:18:19,519 --> 00:18:22,359
still to come, it was essential to turn from nothing.

276
00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,039
Aunt Julius stumbled at the top step of the dark descent,

277
00:18:26,519 --> 00:18:30,519
ill lit by the flickering candle, and even Shorthouse felt

278
00:18:30,559 --> 00:18:33,440
at least half the decision. Go out of his legs.

279
00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:38,960
Come on, he said, peremptorily, and his voice ran on

280
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:44,200
and lost itself in the dark empty spaces below. I'm coming,

281
00:18:44,759 --> 00:18:49,799
she faltered, catching his arm with unnecessary violence. They went

282
00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:54,440
a little unsteadily down the stone steps, a cold, damp air,

283
00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:59,640
meeting them in the face, close and malodorous. The kitchen

284
00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,880
to which the stairs led, along a narrow passage, was large,

285
00:19:04,039 --> 00:19:07,920
with a lofty ceiling. Several doors opened out of it,

286
00:19:08,599 --> 00:19:12,000
some into cupboards with empty jars still standing on the shelves,

287
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:17,759
and others into horrible, little, ghostly back offices, each colder

288
00:19:17,799 --> 00:19:22,920
and less inviting than the last. Black beetles scurried over

289
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,279
the floor, and once when they knocked against a deal

290
00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:29,279
table standing in a corner, something about the size of

291
00:19:29,319 --> 00:19:32,440
a cat jumped down with a rush and fled, scampering

292
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:36,599
across the stone floor into the darkness. Everywhere there was

293
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:41,880
a sense of recent occupation, an impression of sadness and gloom.

294
00:19:43,559 --> 00:19:47,039
Leaving the main kitchen, they next went towards the scullery.

295
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,119
The door was standing ajar, and as they pushed it

296
00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,279
open to its full extent, Aunt Julia uttered a piercing scream,

297
00:19:55,599 --> 00:19:58,200
which she instantly tried to stifle by placing her hand

298
00:19:58,279 --> 00:20:02,960
over her mouth. For a second. Shorthouse stood stock still,

299
00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:06,400
catching his breath. He felt as if his spine had

300
00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:08,880
suddenly become hollow, and some one had filled it with

301
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:13,559
particles of ice. Facing them directly in their way, between

302
00:20:13,559 --> 00:20:17,640
the door posts stood the figure of a woman. She

303
00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:21,200
had disheveled hair and wildly staring eyes, and her face

304
00:20:21,279 --> 00:20:25,599
was terrified and white as death. She stood there motionless

305
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,960
for the space of a single second. Then the candle

306
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:35,240
flickered and she was gone, utterly gone, and the door

307
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:41,160
framed nothing but the empty darkness, only the beastly jumping

308
00:20:41,319 --> 00:20:44,640
candle light. He said quickly, in a voice that sounded

309
00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,640
like some one else's and was only half under control.

310
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:53,240
Come on, Aunt there's nothing there. He dragged her forward,

311
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:57,720
with a clattering of feet and a great appearance of boldness.

312
00:20:58,079 --> 00:21:02,640
They went on, but over his body the skin moved

313
00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:06,519
as if crawling ants covered it, and he knew by

314
00:21:06,519 --> 00:21:09,279
the weight on his arm that he was supplying the

315
00:21:09,319 --> 00:21:14,200
force of locomotion. For two. The scullery was cold, bare

316
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:18,759
and empty, more like a large prison cell than anything else.

317
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,599
They went round it, tried the door into the yard

318
00:21:23,039 --> 00:21:27,880
and the windows, but found them all fastened securely. His

319
00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,480
aunt moved beside him like a person in a dream.

320
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,559
Her eyes were tightly shut, and she seemed merely to

321
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,440
follow the pressure of his arm. Her courage filled him

322
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:42,039
with amazement. At the same time he noticed that a

323
00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:45,599
certain odd change had come over her face, a change

324
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:50,960
which somehow evaded his power of analysis. There's nothing here, aunty,

325
00:21:51,759 --> 00:21:56,079
he repeated aloud. Quickly, let's go upstairs and see the

326
00:21:56,079 --> 00:21:58,920
rest of the house. Then we'll choose a room to

327
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:03,680
wait up in. She followed him obediently, keeping close to

328
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,720
his side, and they locked the kitchen door behind them.

329
00:22:08,279 --> 00:22:11,039
It was a relief to get up again. In the hall,

330
00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:13,839
there was more light than before, for the moon had

331
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:18,920
traveled a little further down the stairs. Cautiously, they began

332
00:22:19,039 --> 00:22:21,759
to go up into the dark vault of the upper house,

333
00:22:22,279 --> 00:22:26,400
the boards creaking under their weight. On the first floor

334
00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,960
they found the large double drawing rooms, a search of

335
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,440
which revealed nothing. Here also was no sign of furniture

336
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,640
or recent occupancy, nothing but dust and neglect and shadows.

337
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,640
They opened the big folding doors between the front and

338
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,640
back drawing rooms, and then came out again to the

339
00:22:46,759 --> 00:22:51,640
landing and went on upstairs. They had not gone up

340
00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,559
more than a dozen steps when they both simultaneously stopped

341
00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,960
to listen, looking into each other's eyes with any new apprehension.

342
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:06,279
Across the flickering candle flame from the room they had left.

343
00:23:06,319 --> 00:23:11,559
Hardly ten seconds before came the sound of doors quietly closing.

344
00:23:12,839 --> 00:23:15,720
It was beyond all question they had heard the booming

345
00:23:15,759 --> 00:23:19,079
noise that accompanies the shutting of heavy doors, followed by

346
00:23:19,079 --> 00:23:23,000
the sharp catching of the latch. We must go back

347
00:23:23,079 --> 00:23:26,680
and see said Shorthouse briefly, in a low tone, and

348
00:23:26,759 --> 00:23:30,960
turning to go downstairs again. Somehow she managed to drag

349
00:23:31,039 --> 00:23:34,799
after him, her feet catching in her dress, her face livid.

350
00:23:36,319 --> 00:23:39,279
When they entered the front drawing room, it was plain

351
00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:42,359
that the folding doors had been closed half a minute before.

352
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,799
Without hesitation, Shorthouse opened them. He almost expected to see

353
00:23:47,799 --> 00:23:50,960
someone facing him in the back room, but only darkness

354
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:55,440
and cold air met him. They went through both rooms,

355
00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,839
finding nothing unusual. They tried in every way to make

356
00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:02,960
the doors closed of themselves, but there was not wind

357
00:24:03,039 --> 00:24:07,279
enough even to set the candle flame flickering. The doors

358
00:24:07,319 --> 00:24:11,319
would not move without strong pressure. All was silent as

359
00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:16,839
the grave. Undeniably, the rooms were utterly empty, and the

360
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:21,720
house utterly still. It's beginning, whispered a voice at his elbow,

361
00:24:21,799 --> 00:24:26,279
which he hardly recognized as his aunt's. He nodded acquiescence,

362
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:30,279
taking out his watch to note the time. It was

363
00:24:30,319 --> 00:24:34,319
fifteen minutes before midnight. He made the entry of exactly

364
00:24:34,319 --> 00:24:37,160
what had occurred in his notebook, setting the candle in

365
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,599
its case upon the floor. In order to do so,

366
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,759
it took a moment or two to balance it safely

367
00:24:42,799 --> 00:24:47,519
against the wall. Aunt Julia always declared that at this

368
00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,640
moment she was not actually watching him, but had turned

369
00:24:50,799 --> 00:24:53,759
her head towards the inner room, where she fancied she

370
00:24:53,839 --> 00:24:59,039
heard something moving. But at any rate, both positively agreed

371
00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:01,799
that there came a sound of rushing feet, heavy and

372
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,000
very swift, and the next instant the candle was out.

373
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:08,240
But to Shorthouse himself had come more than this, and

374
00:25:08,319 --> 00:25:11,559
he has always thanked his fortunate stars that it came

375
00:25:11,599 --> 00:25:14,599
to him alone, and not to his aunt too. For

376
00:25:15,039 --> 00:25:17,920
as he rose from the stooping position of balancing the candle,

377
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:22,160
and before it was actually extinguished, a face thrust itself forward,

378
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,319
so close to his own that he could have almost

379
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,559
touched it with his lips. It was a face working

380
00:25:27,599 --> 00:25:32,880
with passion, a man's face, dark, with thick features and angry,

381
00:25:33,079 --> 00:25:37,039
savage eyes. It belonged to a common man, and it

382
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:41,000
was evil in its ordinary, normal expression, no doubt. But

383
00:25:41,079 --> 00:25:45,799
as he saw it alive with intense, aggressive emotion, it

384
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:51,039
was a malignant and terrible human countenance. There was no

385
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:56,519
movement of the air, nothing but the sound of rushing feet,

386
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,799
stalking or muffled feet, the apparition of the and the

387
00:26:00,799 --> 00:26:05,839
almost simultaneous extinguishing of the candle. In spite of himself,

388
00:26:06,039 --> 00:26:09,680
Shorthouse uttered a little cry, nearly losing his balance, as

389
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:11,960
his aunt clung to him with her whole weight. In

390
00:26:12,079 --> 00:26:17,319
one moment of real, uncontrollable terror, she made no sound,

391
00:26:17,519 --> 00:26:23,039
but simply seized him bodily. Fortunately, however, she had seen nothing,

392
00:26:23,279 --> 00:26:26,400
but had only heard the rushing feet. For her control

393
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,799
returned almost at once, and he was able to disentangle

394
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:34,079
himself and strike a match. The shadows ran away on

395
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,440
all sides before the glare, and his aunt stooped down

396
00:26:37,519 --> 00:26:40,200
and groped for the cigar case with the precious candle.

397
00:26:41,799 --> 00:26:45,279
Then they discovered that the candle had not been blown

398
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:50,559
out at all. It had been crushed out. The wick

399
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,359
was pressed down into the wax, which was flattened, as

400
00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:59,559
if by some smooth, heavy instrument. How his companion so

401
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:05,319
quickly overcame her terror. Shorthouse never properly understood, but his

402
00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:09,200
admiration for her self control increased tenfold, and at the

403
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,519
same time served to feed his own dying flame, for

404
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:18,160
which he was undeniably grateful. Equally inexplicable to him was

405
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,920
the evidence of physical force they had just witnessed. He

406
00:27:22,039 --> 00:27:25,039
at once suppressed the memory of stories he had heard

407
00:27:25,079 --> 00:27:29,799
of physical mediums and their dangerous phenomena, For if these

408
00:27:29,839 --> 00:27:34,079
were true, and either his aunt or himself was unwittingly

409
00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,759
a physical medium, it meant that they were simply aiding

410
00:27:37,799 --> 00:27:41,240
to focus the forces of a haunted house already charged

411
00:27:41,279 --> 00:27:44,880
to the brim. It was like walking with unprotected lamps

412
00:27:45,039 --> 00:27:50,960
among uncovered stores of gunpowder. So with as little reflection

413
00:27:51,039 --> 00:27:54,720
as possible, he simply ReLit the candle and went up

414
00:27:54,799 --> 00:27:58,759
to the next floor. The arm in his trembled. It's

415
00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:02,559
true and his own tread was often uncertain, But they

416
00:28:02,599 --> 00:28:06,079
went on with thoroughness, and after a search revealing nothing,

417
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:09,480
they climbed the last flight of stairs to the top floor.

418
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,599
Of all. Here they found a perfect nest of small

419
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:19,279
servants rooms with broken pieces of furniture, dirty cane bottomed chairs,

420
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:25,759
chests of drawers, cracked mirrors, and decrepit bedsteads. The rooms

421
00:28:25,839 --> 00:28:30,440
had low sloping ceilings already hung here and there with cobwebs,

422
00:28:30,839 --> 00:28:35,960
small windows, and badly plastered walls, a depressing and dismal

423
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:40,279
region which they were glad to leave behind. It was

424
00:28:40,279 --> 00:28:42,920
on the stroke of midnight when they entered a small

425
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,720
room on the third floor, close to the top of

426
00:28:45,799 --> 00:28:49,799
the stairs, and arranged to make themselves comfortable for the

427
00:28:49,839 --> 00:28:55,240
remainder of their adventure. It was absolutely bare, and was

428
00:28:55,279 --> 00:28:58,319
said to be the room then used as a clothes

429
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,759
closet into which the infuriated groom had chased his victim

430
00:29:02,799 --> 00:29:08,480
and finally caught her outside. Across the narrow landing began

431
00:29:08,559 --> 00:29:11,640
the stairs leading up to the floor above and the

432
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:16,400
servants quarters, where they had just searched in spite of

433
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:19,359
the chilliness of the night. There was something in the

434
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,640
air of this room that cried for an open window.

435
00:29:24,119 --> 00:29:29,000
But there was more than this. Shorthouse could only describe

436
00:29:29,039 --> 00:29:32,119
it by saying that he felt less master of himself

437
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:36,160
here than in any other part of the house. There

438
00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:41,160
was something that acted directly on the nerves, tiring the resolution,

439
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:46,839
in feebling the will. He was conscious of this result

440
00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,720
before he had been in the room five minutes, and

441
00:29:49,839 --> 00:29:52,119
it was in the short time they stayed there that

442
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:56,559
he suffered the wholesale depletion of his vital forces, which

443
00:29:56,759 --> 00:30:01,079
was for himself the chief horror of the whole experience.

444
00:30:02,759 --> 00:30:05,319
They put the candle on the floor of the cupboard,

445
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,680
leaving the door a few inches ajar, so that there

446
00:30:08,759 --> 00:30:12,440
was no glare to confuse the eyes and no shadow

447
00:30:12,519 --> 00:30:17,880
to shift about on walls and ceiling. Then they spread

448
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:20,720
the cloak on the floor and sat down to wait

449
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:25,759
with their backs against the wall shorthouse was within two

450
00:30:25,839 --> 00:30:29,359
feet of the door on to the landing. His position

451
00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,359
commanded a good view of the main staircase leading down

452
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,400
into the darkness, and also of the beginning of the

453
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:41,039
servants stairs going to the floor above. The heavy stick

454
00:30:41,319 --> 00:30:45,680
lay beside him within easy reach. The moon was now

455
00:30:45,799 --> 00:30:49,759
high above the house. Through the open window, they could

456
00:30:49,799 --> 00:30:53,680
see the comforting stars, like friendly eyes watching in the sky.

457
00:30:54,839 --> 00:30:58,400
One by one, the clocks of the town struck midnight,

458
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,960
and when the sounds died away, the deep silence of

459
00:31:03,039 --> 00:31:08,240
a windless night fell again over everything. Only the boom

460
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:13,599
of the sea, far away and lugubrious, filled the air

461
00:31:14,119 --> 00:31:21,839
with hollow murmurs. Inside the house, the silence became awful, awful,

462
00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,920
he thought, because any minute now it might be broken

463
00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:31,440
by sounds pretending terror. The strain of waiting told more

464
00:31:31,519 --> 00:31:36,599
and more severely on the nerves. They talked in whispers,

465
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:40,160
when they talked at all. For their voices a loud

466
00:31:40,519 --> 00:31:46,640
sounded queer and unnatural. A chilliness, not altogether due to

467
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:50,759
the night air, invaded the room and made them cold.

468
00:31:52,319 --> 00:31:57,119
The influences against them, whatever these might be, were slowly

469
00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:01,200
robbing them of self confidence and the power of decisive action.

470
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,160
Their forces were on the wane, and the possibility of

471
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:11,279
real fear took on a new and terrible meaning. He

472
00:32:11,359 --> 00:32:14,319
began to tremble for the elderly woman by his side,

473
00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,119
whose pluck could hardly save her. Beyond a certain extent,

474
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:24,680
he heard the blood singing in his veins. It sometimes

475
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:28,960
seemed so loud that he fancied it prevented his hearing

476
00:32:29,079 --> 00:32:34,480
properly certain other sounds that were beginning very faintly to

477
00:32:34,599 --> 00:32:39,119
make themselves audible in the depths of the house. Every

478
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:44,079
time he fastened his attention on these sounds, they instantly ceased.

479
00:32:45,559 --> 00:32:50,440
They certainly came no nearer. Yet he could not rid

480
00:32:50,519 --> 00:32:54,480
himself of the idea that movement was going on somewhere

481
00:32:54,519 --> 00:32:58,880
in the lower regions of the house. The drawing room floor,

482
00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:02,920
where the doors that had been so strangely closed, seemed

483
00:33:03,119 --> 00:33:07,759
too near. The sounds were further off than that. He

484
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,359
thought of the great kitchen with the scurrying black beetles,

485
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:16,079
and of the dismal little scullery. But somehow or other,

486
00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:20,640
they did not seem to come from there either. Surely

487
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:26,960
they were not outside the house. Then suddenly the truth

488
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,119
flashed into his mind, and for the space of a

489
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,759
minute he felt as if his blood had stopped flowing

490
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:39,920
and turned to ice. The sounds were not downstairs at all.

491
00:33:41,559 --> 00:33:47,480
They were upstairs, upstairs, somewhere among those horrid, gloomy little

492
00:33:47,519 --> 00:33:51,559
servants rooms with their bits of broken furniture, low ceilings

493
00:33:51,599 --> 00:33:55,559
and cramped windows, upstairs where the victim had first been

494
00:33:55,599 --> 00:34:00,160
disturbed and stalked to her death. And the moment he

495
00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:03,559
discovered where the sounds were, he began to hear them

496
00:34:03,599 --> 00:34:08,039
more clearly. It was the sound of feet moving stealthily

497
00:34:08,079 --> 00:34:12,280
along the passage overhead, in and out among the rooms

498
00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:17,239
and past the furniture. He turned quickly to steal a

499
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:20,519
glance at the motionless figure seated beside him, to note

500
00:34:20,519 --> 00:34:24,400
whether she had shared his discovery. The faint candle light

501
00:34:24,519 --> 00:34:27,039
coming through the crack and the cupboard door threw her

502
00:34:27,079 --> 00:34:30,119
strongly marked face into vivid relief against the white of

503
00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:33,559
the wall. But it was something else that made him

504
00:34:33,599 --> 00:34:38,400
catch his breath and stare again. An extraordinary something had

505
00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:41,559
come into her face and seemed to spread over her

506
00:34:41,599 --> 00:34:45,760
features like a mask. It smoothed out the deep lines

507
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:48,800
and drew the skin everywhere a little tighter, so that

508
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:53,079
the wrinkles disappeared. It brought into the face, with the

509
00:34:53,119 --> 00:34:56,679
sole exception of the old eyes, an appearance of youth

510
00:34:57,559 --> 00:35:04,239
and almost of childhood. He stared in speechless amazement, amazement

511
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:09,840
that was dangerously near to horror. It was his aunt's face, indeed,

512
00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:13,840
but it was her face of forty years ago, the vacant,

513
00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:18,320
innocent face of a girl. He had heard stories of

514
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,599
that strange effect of terror, which could wipe a human

515
00:35:21,639 --> 00:35:27,159
countenance clean of other emotions, obliterating all previous expressions, but

516
00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:30,400
he had never realized that it could be literally true,

517
00:35:31,159 --> 00:35:34,039
or could mean anything so simply horrible as what he

518
00:35:34,159 --> 00:35:39,639
now saw. For the dreadful signature of overmastering fear was

519
00:35:39,679 --> 00:35:43,039
written plainly in that utter vacancy of the girlish face

520
00:35:43,079 --> 00:35:47,679
beside him. And when feeling his intense gaze, she turned

521
00:35:47,679 --> 00:35:51,199
to look at him. He instinctively closed his eyes tightly

522
00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:55,119
to shut out the sight. Yet when he turned a

523
00:35:55,159 --> 00:35:58,559
minute later, his feelings well in hand, he saw, to

524
00:35:58,599 --> 00:36:03,960
his intense relief another expression. His aunt was smiling, and

525
00:36:04,079 --> 00:36:07,039
though the face was deathly white, the awful veil had

526
00:36:07,079 --> 00:36:12,880
lifted and the normal look was returning anything wrong was

527
00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:14,800
all he could think of to say at the moment,

528
00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:18,440
and the answer was eloquent coming from such a woman.

529
00:36:20,039 --> 00:36:24,639
I feel cold and a little frightened, she whispered. He

530
00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:27,679
offered to close the window, but she seized hold of

531
00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:30,159
him and begged him not to leave her side, even

532
00:36:30,199 --> 00:36:35,320
for an instant. It's upstairs, I know, she whispered, with

533
00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:40,239
an odd half laugh. But I can't possibly co up.

534
00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:45,039
But Shorthouse thought otherwise, Knowing that an action lay their

535
00:36:45,079 --> 00:36:49,559
best hope of self control, he took the brandy flask

536
00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:53,119
and poured out a glass of neat spirit, stiff enough

537
00:36:53,119 --> 00:36:57,159
to help anybody over anything. She swallowed it with a

538
00:36:57,159 --> 00:37:01,239
little shiver. His only idea da now was to get

539
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:05,679
out of the house before her collapse became inevitable. But

540
00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,199
this could not safely be done by turning tail and

541
00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:14,119
running from the enemy. Inaction was no longer possible. Every

542
00:37:14,159 --> 00:37:17,800
minute he was growing less master of himself, and desperate

543
00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:23,920
aggressive measures were imperative without further delay. Moreover, the action

544
00:37:24,119 --> 00:37:26,880
must be taken towards the enemy, not away from it.

545
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:32,679
The climax, if necessary and unavoidable, would have to be

546
00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:36,679
faced boldly. He could do it now, but in ten

547
00:37:36,719 --> 00:37:39,280
minutes he might not have the force left to act

548
00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:45,039
for himself, much less for both. Upstairs, the sounds were

549
00:37:45,079 --> 00:37:49,599
meanwhile becoming louder and closer, accompanied by occasional creaking of

550
00:37:49,639 --> 00:37:54,880
the boards. Someone was moving stealthily about, stumbling now and

551
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:59,719
thin awkwardly against the furniture, waiting a few moments to

552
00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:03,079
allow the tremendous dose of spirits to produce its effect,

553
00:38:03,559 --> 00:38:06,159
and knowing this would last but a short time under

554
00:38:06,159 --> 00:38:11,119
the circumstances, Shorthouse then quietly got on his feet, saying

555
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:16,480
in a determined voice, Now, Aunt Julia, we'll go upstairs

556
00:38:16,599 --> 00:38:19,480
and find what all this noise is about. You must

557
00:38:19,519 --> 00:38:23,400
come too, It's what we agreed. He picked up his

558
00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:26,320
stick and went to the cupboard for the candle. A

559
00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:30,400
limp form rose shakily beside him, breathing hard, and he

560
00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:34,239
heard a voice say, very faintly something about being ready

561
00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:38,880
to come. The woman's courage amazed him, it was so

562
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:43,079
much greater than his own, And as they advanced, holding

563
00:38:43,119 --> 00:38:47,920
aloft the dripping candle, some subtle force exhaled from this trembling,

564
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:51,559
white faced old woman at his side. That was the

565
00:38:51,559 --> 00:38:56,320
true source of his inspiration. It held something really great

566
00:38:56,519 --> 00:38:59,679
that shamed him and gave him the support without which

567
00:38:59,719 --> 00:39:04,199
held have proved far less equal to the occasion. They

568
00:39:04,239 --> 00:39:07,920
crossed the dark landing, avoiding with their eyes the deep

569
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:12,400
black space over the banisters. Then they began to mount

570
00:39:12,519 --> 00:39:16,039
the narrow staircase to meet the sounds, which minute by

571
00:39:16,079 --> 00:39:21,559
minute grew louder and nearer. About half way up the stairs,

572
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:25,159
Aunt Julia stumbled, and Shorthouse turned to catch her by

573
00:39:25,159 --> 00:39:28,239
the arm, and just at that moment there came a

574
00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:32,840
terrific crash in the servant's cortdor overhead. It was instantly

575
00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:36,559
followed by a shrill, agonized scream that was a cry

576
00:39:36,599 --> 00:39:40,320
of terror and a cry for help melted into one.

577
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:43,440
Before they could move aside or go down a single step,

578
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:48,280
someone came rushing along the passage overhead, blundering horribly, racing

579
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:51,599
madly at full speed, three steps at a time down

580
00:39:51,679 --> 00:39:55,519
the very staircase where they stood. The steps were light

581
00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:59,679
and uncertain, but close behind them sounded the heavier tread

582
00:39:59,719 --> 00:40:05,239
of another person, and the staircase seemed to shake. Shorthouse

583
00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:08,719
and his companion just had time to flatten themselves against

584
00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:12,119
the wall when the jumble of flying steps was upon them,

585
00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,960
and two persons, with the slightest possible interval between them,

586
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:20,800
dashed past at full speed. It was a perfect whirlwind

587
00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:23,760
of sound breaking in upon the midnight silence of the

588
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:29,320
empty building. The two runners, pursuer and pursued, had passed

589
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:32,760
clean through them where they stood, and already with a thud,

590
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:35,920
the boards below had received first one then the other.

591
00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:42,280
Yet they had seen absolutely nothing, not a hand or arm,

592
00:40:42,599 --> 00:40:47,400
or face, or even a shred of flying clothing. There

593
00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:52,039
came a second's pause, Then the first one, the lighter

594
00:40:52,079 --> 00:40:56,400
of the two, obviously the pursued one, ran with uncertain

595
00:40:56,400 --> 00:40:59,639
footsteps into the little room which Shorthouse and his aunt

596
00:40:59,719 --> 00:41:04,559
had just left. The heavier one followed. There was a

597
00:41:04,599 --> 00:41:11,079
sound of scuffling, gasping and smothered screaming, and then out

598
00:41:11,119 --> 00:41:14,639
onto the landing came the step of a single person

599
00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:21,039
treading weightily. A dead silence followed for the space of

600
00:41:21,079 --> 00:41:24,519
half a minute, and then was heard a rushing sound

601
00:41:24,599 --> 00:41:28,880
through the air. It was followed by a dull, crashing

602
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:32,440
thud in the depths of the house below. On the

603
00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:40,840
stone floor of the hall, utter silence reigned after nothing moved.

604
00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:46,039
The flame of the candle was steady. It had been

605
00:41:46,079 --> 00:41:49,639
steady the whole time, and the air had been undisturbed

606
00:41:49,639 --> 00:41:55,840
by any movement whatsoever. Palsied with terror, Aunt Julia, without

607
00:41:55,880 --> 00:42:00,639
waiting for her companion, began fumbling her way downstairs. She

608
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,320
was crying gently to herself, and when Shorthouse put her

609
00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:07,719
arm round her and half carried her, he felt that

610
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,639
she was trembling like a leaf. He went into the

611
00:42:11,639 --> 00:42:14,400
little room and picked up the cloak from the floor,

612
00:42:15,119 --> 00:42:20,519
and arm in arm. Walking very slowly, without speaking word

613
00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:24,639
or looking once behind them, they marched down the three

614
00:42:24,679 --> 00:42:29,400
flights into the hall. In the hall they saw nothing

615
00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:32,280
but the whole way down the stairs, they were conscious

616
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:37,280
that some one followed them step by step. When they

617
00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:42,239
went faster, it was left behind, and when they went

618
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:47,440
more slowly, it caught them up. But never once did

619
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:51,159
they look behind to see, and at each turning of

620
00:42:51,239 --> 00:42:54,920
the staircase they lowered their eyes for fear of the

621
00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:59,840
following horror they might see upon the stairs above. With

622
00:43:00,039 --> 00:43:04,480
trembling hands, Shorthouse opened the front door, and they walked

623
00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:07,719
out into the moonlight and drew a deep breath of

624
00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:13,199
the cool night air. Blowing in from the sea end

625
00:43:13,800 --> 00:43:14,960
of the empty house