notions of lateness in the country
districts, and the sheep and cattle would have long ago been kraaled for
the night; yet, even so, it was seldom that the stock settled down to
rest so early, seldom that, among so many animals, there were not a few
restless ones proclaiming their restlessness by bleat or bellow--and on
this particular night there was not a sound of any description to
apprise the wayfarer that he was within a quarter of a mile of an
opulent farm. As I rounded the extremity of the spur, however, and the
house swung into view, a great sigh of relief escaped me, for there,
within shouting distance, stood the building to all appearances intact.
True, it was in complete darkness; but that of course might very easily
arise from the fact that Mr Lestrange, after a busy day in the open,
had retired to rest early.

Yet somehow the darkness seemed to me to be as ominous as the silence,
and, urging Prince to a canter, I dashed forward, leaped the fence
without pausing to take down the slip rails, and reined up at the steps
which gave access to the stoep. Then I perceived that the front door
and all the windows were wide-open, which struck me as being peculiar in
the extreme, taken in conjunction with the total darkness in which the
house was wrapped; for though of course we habitually slept with our
bedroom windows wide-open, we usually closed the front doors and the
windows giving access to unoccupied rooms the last thing before retiring
at night: therefore, moved by the sudden return in full flood of my
anxiety, I gave vent to a loud whoop as I swung out of the saddle, and
without waiting for a reply rushed up the steps, across the stoep, and
into the house, shouting as I went: "Mr Lestrange! Mr Lestrange!
where are you? It is I, Ned Laurence. Where are you?"

The echo of my voice was, however, the only reply I received; but I had
no sooner entered the hall than I perceived that something was very
seriously wrong, for the furniture was all disarranged, one of the
chairs was overturned, and, so far as I could see in the semi-obscurity,
it appeared that Lestrange's guns were not in their usual places in the
rack.

Of course I never went anywhere without carrying in my pocket the means
to obtain a light; therefore without waiting for further developments I
drew forth my flint and steel, and presently lighted the lamp which hung
from the hall ceiling, and which fortunately still contained a fair
quantity of