And she told him all; of our going over the house till we got to the room on the second floor, of my pulling the bell, of the sounds we had heard proceeding from the basement and approaching nearer and nearer till they were outside in the passage, of my locking the door, of the door opening of its own accord, and of the appearance on the threshold of the specter of a young girl, and, finally, of her fainting away. "It was only my obstinacy," she said, "that took us up to the top of the house. Edward was quite ready to leave it before we had been in the place two minutes, but I insisted upon going into all the rooms, and I was properly punished for it. I was frightened enough, goodness knows, before I fainted, for I was chilled all over by what I had already seen, and I ought to have been satisfied; but you know what women are, Mr. Millet, when they take a fancy into their heads." "There, Bob," said I, "there's a confession to make; not many women would say as much." Bob smiled, and said, "You are too hard on yourself. We are much of a muchness--men and women alike; there is nothing to choose between us." "You are very good to say so, Mr. Millet." "When you recovered from your faint," said Bob, "was the figure still there?" "No, it was gone." "And you did not see it again?" "No, thank God!" "Did you see it?" asked Bob, turning to me. "He says he didn't," said my wife, quickly replying for me, "but----" "But," I added, "she does not believe me." "How can I believe you," said my wife reproachfully, "when the very moment before I swooned away I saw your eyes almost starting out of your head with fright." "Oh, well," I said, "I suppose I have as much right to fancy things as you." "Of course you have, and it was very considerate of you to deny that you saw anything. He is the best husband in the world, Mr. Millet, and if he thinks I don't appreciate him he is mistaken." "Now, my dear," I said soothingly, "you know I don't think anything of the sort; if I am the best husband in the world, so are you the best wife in the world. What do you say to our going in for the flitch of bacon?" "It is all very well to make a laughing matter of it," said my wife seriously. "I will ask Mr. Millet this plain question. He may say, like you, that it is all fancy; but pray how does he account for the opening of a locked door?" "I told you," I interposed before Bob could speak, "that I must have been mistaken in supposing I had locked it." "Very good. But the door was shut if it was not locked." "I don't deny that it was." "How did it come open, then?" "I told you that, too," I replied. "The wind." "What wind?" "The wind from the window through the broken panes."