But then, again, he had not heard a sound; perhaps that was because his foot was scraping the floor at the moment the light went out.

He looked out of the window, but there was only starlight, and he could not see distinctly.

Turning round he went to the door of the outer hall-way, opened it, and stepped into the garden.

As he did so, a figure slipped from behind the press in the bedroom, swiftly raised the trap-door in the flooring, then, shadowed by the door leading into the hall-way, waited for him.
Presently his footstep was heard.

He entered the hall, stood in the doorway of the bedroom for a moment, while he searched in his pockets for a light, then stepped inside.
Suddenly his attention was arrested.