emembered that beyond the white gate a short farm-road led around
to the back entrance of the building. With this new suspicion of a
conspiracy in his mind, it cost him no small effort of courage to
dismount, pistol in hand, from the gig and push the white gate open.

It fell back, as he remembered later, on a well-oiled hinge, and he
stood aside while old Dapple, doubtless greatly wondering, obeyed his
call and dragged the gig through. This was a nervous moment, for now
the doctor could not rid himself of the apprehension that eyes might
be watching him from behind the hedge. He remembered, too, that the
widow Tresize kept a couple of sheep dogs, notoriously savage ones.
It was strange that they did not awake and give tongue.

On the thought of this, as Dapple drew the gig through the gateway,
Doctor Unonius edged up close to the step. . . . It might be all very
well for Odysseus to squat on the ground when attacked by the hounds
of Eumaeus, but Odysseus had not the resource (perhaps better) of
springing into a gig.

Idle precaution! The widow Tresize's dogs were peradventure caught
napping. At all events, neither one nor the other uttered a sound.
Doctor Unonius, wrenching a lamp from its socket, walked boldly
forward at Dapple's bit and, coming to the back entrance by the
midden-yard, knocked boldly.

CHAPTER V.

To his surprise, within a few seconds a faint light shone through the
chink by the door-jamb, and he heard a footstep coming down the
passage. A bolt was withdrawn, very softly--the door opened--and Mrs
Tresize herself confronted him.

She stood just within the threshold, holding a lamp high: and its
rays, while they fell full on the doctor, causing him to blink,
crossed the rays of his gig-lamp which showed him that, late though
the hour was, she had as yet made no preparations for going to bed,
even to the extent of taking off her jewellery. The base of the
lamp, as its flames flickered in the draught, cast a waving shadow
over the widow's cap perched on her neatly coiled black tresses, and
the same shadow danced across her jet-black eyes and left them
staring at him, very bright and inquisitive. She wore a dress of
stiff black silk with a somewhat coquettish apron; and about her neck
a solid gold chain, thrice coiled, with a massive locket pendant at
her bosom. Above the locket was fastened a large memorial brooch
with a framework of gold, a face of crystal and, behind the crystal,