"He is also deaf, and has no servants," said Joyce impatiently after a few minutes had passed. "Has a Borgian banquet taken place here? The guests seem to be dead. Hai! the whole thing is damnable." "Don't let yourself go," said the doctor roughly squeezing the little man's arm, "wait and see the upshot." Again and again they rang the bell, and themselves heard its imperative summons: but no one appeared. Then they took their courage in both hands, and stepped into the house. Passing through the crimson curtains, they found themselves in a wide corridor enamelled green, with velvet carpet and more light-bearing statues. On either side were doors draped with emerald silk. Herrick led the way through one of these, for Joyce, rendered timorous by the adventure would not take the initiative. In the first room, an oval table was set out for a solitary meal. The linen was bleached as the Alpine snow, the silver antique, the crystal exquisite, the porcelain worth its weight in gold. An iridescent glass vase in the centre was filled with flowers, but these drooped, withered and brown. The bread also was stale, the fruits were shrivelled from their early freshness. Magnificently furnished and draped, the room glowed in splendour, under innumerable electric lights. But the intruders had eyes only for that sumptuous table, with its air of desolation, and its place set for one. Anything more sinister can scarcely be conceived. "No one has sat down to this meal," said Herrick lifting the covers of the silver dishes, "it has stood here for hours, if not for days. Let us see if we can find the creature for whom it was intended." "Perhaps you expect to find the Beast that loved Beauty, since you call him a creature," said Robin hysterically. "Here is wine." Dr. Jim went to the sideboard, whereon were ranged decanters of Venetian glass containing many different vintages. Passing over these he selected a pint bottle of champagne. "We must make free of our position," he said, unwiring this, "afterwards we can apologise." "Ugh!" cried Robin as the cork popped with a staccato sound in the silence. "How gruesome; give me a glass at once Jim." "I don't know if it is good for you in your present state," replied the doctor brimming a goblet, "however the whole adventure is so queer, that an attack of nerves is excusable. Drink up." Robin did so, and was joined by Jim. They finished the bottle, and felt exhilarated, and more ready to face the unknown. Again Herrick led the way to further explorations. Adjacent to the dining-room, they discovered a small kitchen, white-tiled and completely furnished. "Our hermit cooks for himself," declared Dr. Jim, eying the utensils of polished copper. "This is not a servant's kitchen: also it is off the dining-room."