By dint of peering between the corrupted bars, it was possible to see for ourselves the desolation. A press of nettles crowded about the scorched and blackened walls, square gaping mouths, that had been windows, showed from the light within that there was no roof, while here and there charred timbers thrust their unsightly way from out of a riot of brambles, wild and disorderly. What we could see of the garden was a very wilderness. Tall rank grass flourished on every side, carriage-way and borders alike had been blotted into a springing waste, and the few sprawling shrubs which we could recognize hardly emerged from beneath the choking smother of luxuriant bindweed. The gates were chained and padlocked. But they were not difficult to scale, and in a moment Berry and I were over and standing knee-deep in the long wet grass. Stealthily we made our way to the back of the house.... The sundial was just visible. The grass of what had once been a trim lawn rose up about the heavy pedestal, coarse and tumultuous. But it was untouched. No foot of man or beast had trodden it--lately, at any rate. Simultaneously we heaved sighs of relief. Then-- "Adele'll never recognize this," said Berry. "It's hopeless. What she saw was a lawn, not a prairie." I nodded. "Still," he went on, "there used to be a door in the wall--on the east side." As he spoke, he turned and looked sharply at the haggard building. "Thought I heard something," he added. "Did you?" I swung on my heel, and together we stared and listened. Eyes and ears alike went unrewarded. The silence of desolation hung like a ragged pall, gruesome and deathly.... Without a word we passed to the east of the ruin. After a little we came to the door in the wall. Here was no lock, and with a little patience we drew the bolts and pulled the door open. It gave on to a little lane, which ran into the by-road at a point close to where the others were waiting. I left Berry and hastened back to the car. Exclamations of surprise greeted my issuing from the lane, and I could read the same unspoken query in four faces at once. "We're first in the field so far," I said. There was a gasp of relief. "Come along. We've found a way for you." Adele and Jill were already out of the car. Daphne and Jonah made haste to alight. "Think we can leave her?" said Jonah, with a nod at the Rolls. "Oh, yes. We shan't be a minute." Hurriedly we padded back the way I had come. Berry was still at the door, and in silence we followed him to where he and I had stood looking and listening a few minutes before. "O-o-oh!" cried Jill, in an excited whisper. "What about it, Adele?" said Berry. Adele looked about her, knitting her brows. Then-- "I'm afraid to say anything," she said. "It may be the place I sat. I can't say it isn't. But it's so altered. I think, if the grass was cut...." "What did I say?" said my brother-in-law. "But the pedestal was exactly that height. That I'll swear. And it stood on a step."