A faint light entered and Dick saw that no one was there but himself.

He could discern the dim figures of the soldiers sleeping on the piazza and beyond a cluster of the small pines grown on lawns.
Dick felt that he had lost the trail for the time, but he did not intend to give it up.

Doubtless the intruder was some one who knew the house and who was also aware of his presence inside.

He also felt that he would not be fired upon, because the stranger himself would not wish to bring the soldiers down upon him.

So, with a hand upon his pistol butt, he opened the side door and followed once more into the darkness.
The ghostly chase went on for a full half-hour, Dick having nothing to serve him save an occasional light footfall.