Once inside, stowed away in some unused room, he could wait the approach of Chambers' troops, escape easily, and become a hero.

The whole trick fitted in with the man's type of mind.

And he could have come in the same way I had, sneaking through the unguarded kitchen--why, in the name of Heaven, had Miles neglected to place a guard there ?--and then up the servants' stairs.

I dried my face on a towel, rejoicing that the derringer blow had left little damage, and opened the door leading to the upper story.

It was a narrow stairway, rather dark, but the first thing to catch my eye was a small clod of yellow dirt on the second step, and this was still damp--the foot from which it had fallen must have passed within a very short time.