"Malignant is not the word to apply to Mr. Stebbins," Pennington Wise interrupted her, "and it is up to us,--to me, to find who took his place as haunter of this house. Also, who it was that removed the body of Vernie Reid, doubtless through the revolving column, and--who kidnapped and tried to drown Zizi." "Those are secondary problems," said Braye, thoughtfully gazing at the detective. "But they must be solved, too, of course. What I'm more anxious about, however, is to learn how any one could compass the murders,--if murders they were." "Of course they were," said Hardwick. "Now that I know as much as I do know, I'm sure we'll learn all. Mr. Wise, I'm of a detective bent, myself, and you may count on me to help you all I can. You needn't laugh----" "My dear Professor Hardwick, I assure you I've no thought of laughing, or of belittling the help you offer. I'm truly glad of your assistance and it is my habit to be frank with my clients, so we need have no reservations, on either side. The assurance we have received that an intruder could and did enter the house, gives us new directions in which to look and new theories to pursue. I'm sure you will all agree with me that the body of Miss Reid was carried out through the secret column, and not removed by supernatural means." "Without doubt," said Rudolph Braye, but Eve Carnforth looked a denial. "I can't agree," she said, "that the discovery of a secret entrance disproves all possibility of the presence of supernatural agencies. I think no human intruder can be held responsible for all we have been through. How do you account for two deaths occurring at the very moment they were foretold?" Her question was evidently addressed to Wise, and he replied, "I think, Miss Carnforth, that those two deaths were murders, cleverly accomplished by human wills, and it is my immediate duty to prove this. Therefore, I am now going to endeavour to recover the missing body of the unfortunate girl who was killed." "What! Vernie's body!" and Eve gasped. "Yes. And not wishing to do anything to which you may not all agree, I announce frankly that I am going to have the lake dragged." "The lake!" cried Wynne Landon, "why, man, it is miles long!" "But I think that the same person who tried to drown Zizi is responsible for the disappearance of Miss Reid's body, and I feel sure that if we look in that same part of the lake we will find what we are after." "Incredible!" exclaimed Landon. "You will only waste your time!" Wise looked closely at the face of the speaker, and then turned quickly to observe another face. "At any rate, it can do no harm to try," he said, finally. "Not at all," said Braye; "go ahead. But even the recovery of Vernie's body, will get us no nearer to her murderer. I wish I had been here at the time of those deaths. While I cannot feel I should have been of any help, I do think I could have noticed something or formed some opinion or conclusion from the circumstances."