Next morning I found the front room window wide open." "Were there any footprints outside the window ?" "A man doesn't leave footprints on rocks." "What time was it ?" "It would be about midnight, I reckon." "Did your wife hear the noise ?" "No.

She was in bed and asleep." "Are you sure you didn't dream this ?" Mr.Brimsdown asked, with a shrewd penetrating glance.
"The open window wasn't a dream," was the dogged reply.
"You might have left it open yourself." "No, I didn't.

I close the windows every night before dark." "And lock them ?" "Not always." The incident did not sound convincing to Mr.Brimsdown, but his face did not reveal his scepticism as he thanked Thalassa for the information.
Thalassa lingered, as if he had something still on his mind.

He brought it out abruptly-- "Has anything been seen of Miss Sisily ?" "Nothing whatever, Thalassa." On that he turned away, and went out of the room, leaving the lawyer pondering over his story of a midnight intruder.

Mr.Brimsdown came to the conclusion that it was probably imagination, and so dismissed it from his mind.
He resumed his work of working over the papers, but after a few minutes discontinued his search, and walked restlessly about the room.