"I believe that leads straight into the house!" "All the better," was Moore's unsympathising reply; "all the better if it does! I had no hope of such a find as this. Come along, Reggie, keep well to one side, and then no one could see us unless they were actually at the door looking out for us, which is _not_ likely to be the case." But now I stood firm. "I won't come a step farther," I said positively. "Well, stay where you are," said my brother, "though I do think you're a goose, after having come so far, to stop short at the jolliest point! _I'm_ going on." I caught hold of him. He was so excited by this time, though cool enough outwardly, that I was terrified of any war of words ensuing, the sound of which might have attracted attention at the house, so perfectly still and silent was everything about us. "If--" I began, "if you will promise me, vow to me, that you will come back in five minutes, I'll make my way to the door again, and wait there for you." "All right," was the reply; "I promise," and we separated, he creeping along as nimbly as a cat, while I retreated tremulously, looking over my shoulder every now and then as I did so, for as long as I could keep the boy in sight. These five minutes--and I really don't think he exceeded them--seemed to me hours. My relief was indescribable when I heard his softly-uttered "Reggie," as he returned to me. "Well?" I said interrogatively. "Was it worth the risk? I know I've been shaking here as if I had the palsy. I couldn't have stood it much longer." "Worth the risk?" he repeated, cavalierly ignoring the mention of my tremors. "I should rather think so! Wait till we get outside, and then I'll tell you what I saw." And in another moment, outside and in safety, we found ourselves carefully closing the door so that its unfastened condition should not attract attention, as Isabel and I had done on our first visit. "What did you see?" I inquired at once. "None of the inhabitants, I suppose?" "No," was the reply, "but traces of them. That glass door, Reggie, is the entrance to a long, narrow conservatory, which opens right into the house at the other end. It isn't much as far as plants go, just a lot of ferns and green things at one side, but there's a broad sort of walk, and I saw a pipe or two lying on a little table, and some books and seats. There was one long deck-chair kind of thing, belonging to the cripple brother most likely. Evidently it's a place that they keep for smoking and sitting in. I got close up to the other end and peeped in." "O Moore!" I exclaimed, interested but horrified, "supposing you had been seen!" "But I wasn't," he answered in his most matter-of-fact way. "There was nobody about, even in the room I peeped into--I couldn't make out if it was a sitting-room or a bedroom. It was dark and dullish-looking, as I think all the house must be; the windows are so narrow."