looking at the paste in
the soup plate.

"No one actually eats or drinks here----"

"But I'm solid," he said, "am I not?"

"People always think they're solid everywhere," she laughed. "It's only
a question of degree; solidity _here_ means a different thing to
solidity _there_."

"I can get thinner though, can't I?" he asked, thinking of her remark
about escape being easier the lighter he grew.

She assured him there would be no difficulty about that, and after
replying evasively to a lot more questions, she gathered up the dishes
and once more disappeared through the trap-door.

Jimbo watched her going down the ladder into the black gulf below, and
wondered greatly where she went to and what she did down there; but on
these points the governess had refused to satisfy his curiosity, and
every time she appeared or disappeared the atmosphere of mystery came
and went with her.

As he stared, wondering, a sound suddenly made itself heard behind him,
and on turning quickly round he saw to his great surprise that the door
into the passage was open. This was more than he could resist, and in
another minute, with mingled feelings of dread and delight, he was out
in the passage.

When he was first brought to the house, two hours before, it had been
too dark to see properly, but now the sun was high in the heavens, and
the light still increasing. He crept cautiously to the head of the
stairs and peered over into the well of the house. It was still too
dark to make things out clearly; but, as he looked, he thought something
moved among the shadows below, and for a moment his heart stood still
with fear. A large grey face seemed to be staring up at him out of the
gloom. He clutched the banisters and felt as if he hardly had strength
enough in his legs to get back to the room he had just left; but almost
immediately the terror passed, for he saw that the face resolved itself
into the mingling of light and shadow, and the features, after all, were
of his own creation. He went on slowly and stealthily down the
staircase.

It was certainly an empty house. There were no carpets; the passages
were cold and draughty; the paper curled from the damp walls, leaving
ugly discoloured patches about; cobwebs hung in many places from the
ceiling, the windows were more or less broken, and all were coated so
thickly with dirt that the rain had traced little furrows from top to
bottom. Shadows hung about everywhere, and Jimbo thought eve