Haunted houses -- Fiction; London (England) -- Fiction
"Almost as important as yours. When you left us I commenced to make a
thorough examination of the house, as I said I would. Barbara assisted
me. I examined every room, every cupboard, and found a lot of things
which had apparently been thrown away in haste. These discoveries gave
point to an observation I have already made to you--that it is strange
the last tenant did not call in a broker and dispose of articles for
which he had no use, as he evidently had no intention of occupying the
house. Barbara was much surprised at our discoveries, and I shouldn't
wonder, honest as I believe the child to be, if the idea occurred to
her that she might have made use of the property from time to time to
relieve her poverty. However, that is neither here nor there, and I
may be doing Barbara an injustice. We had occupied some time in our
search, when it became necessary to devote attention to the
preparation of dinner, so I sent the girl away, and continued to poke
about alone. It was well I did so, for I made what I conceive to be a
startling discovery. On the floor above this there are two attics,
presumably intended for servants' bedrooms. There is a rather large
landing, and in the wall of this landing I observed two low doors.
Opening them, I found that they were cupboards for the receptacle of
lumber; they extend far into the outer wall of the house. It was in
one of these cupboards, at the extreme end, that I made my startling
discovery. What kind of dress did Barbara say that Miss Beatrice wore
when she last saw her?"
"A gray silk, with steel trimmings."
Bob went to a corner of the room and brought forward a large bundle.
"Here it is."
There it was, sure enough--a very beautiful dress, perfectly made, of
expensive material.
"Observe," said Bob, "this is not a dress which has served its day,
and which it is at all probable the wearer voluntarily discarded. It
is almost new, and could have been worn but a few times. I put this
aside, and I produce every other article of a lady's attire--silk
stockings, shoes, petticoats, mantle, hat. I produce also a lady's
nightdress, and every other requisite--the outfit is complete. All
these articles are in good condition; the stockings show no signs of
wear, the shoes are nearly new, the mantle must have cost a fair sum
of money. To whom did these clothes belong?"
"To Miss Beatrice."
"Yes, to Miss Beatrice. What did Barbara say was her sister's favorite
dress?"
"A pink cotton, with little flowers on it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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