He roused himself at last as he saw what headway the flames were making, like one starting from a dreadful dream. "Heavens!" he cried out, "this is terrible. Murder and arson have both been committed here!" He looked about him. Two buckets of water stood on a rude plank shelf. He took them down and poured the water over the burning body of the man, then dashed out into the yard where he remembered he had seen a well as he came in. He filled the two buckets, carried them in, and poured the contents over the fire. Again and again he repeated this operation till the smoldering fire was quite extinguished, and he stood, weary and perspiring, looking at the dismal scene. "Well, what next?" he asked himself. "I suppose I ought to go into town and bring the coroner; but first I believe I will explore this horrible den. What if the body I have sought so long should lie hidden in this dreadful lazar house." He went out into the hall and looked down its narrow length. Three doorways opened into as many rooms. The handles yielded to his touch, and the door of each swung open readily, but the rooms were empty, dark and cobwebbed. Dust lay thick upon the floor, showing that they had long been untenanted. With a sigh of disappointment he closed them again, and stood contemplating the stairway. "Better luck in the upper regions, perhaps," he thought. "I wonder if I dare venture up there? Surely I can encounter nothing more fearful than I have seen below." Slowly, and with some apprehension, he mounted the stairs, not knowing what to expect, and thinking it possible that he might encounter some further dreadful spectacle. At the top of the stairs he found himself in a narrow passage-way on which three doors opened. He advanced to the first door and tried it. It yielded easily to his touch, and swung open. He entered and looked about him. There was nothing suspicious here. It was evidently the sleeping apartment of the two dead people below who would never need it more. A bed and two chairs constituted the sole furnishing. Some cheap articles of feminine apparel hung upon pegs against the wall, together with one or two rusty old coats and a pair of pants that doubtless belonged to the man he had seen below. "There is nothing hidden here," thought Mr. Shelton, leaving it and entering the next room. This room was similar to the first one. A bed and several chairs were all it contained. A single article of feminine apparel hung against the wall. It was a dress of summer blue, and made in a more fashionable style than the one which he had seen in the adjoining room. Like a flash he remembered that Mrs. Mason had told him, when describing the appearance of the girl she had befriended, that she wore a "morning dress of a light-blue color, and fashionably made."