e full of some
solemn mystery."

At this point Marsh saw a young couple, strolling on the other side
of the road. He surmised that they were local residents, and
excusing himself to Miss Atwood, crossed over and inquired of the
man if he knew where the Merton estate was located.

"Yes," was the reply. "Just keep on south along Sheridan Road. It
won't take you five minutes to get there. The place is on the left
hand side of the road. You can't miss it; a gateway with gray stone
posts, and there are two big pines inside the entrance to the
driveway."

Thanking him, Marsh rejoined Miss Atwood.

"I wanted to find out how to locate the place I was looking for," he
explained. "You will pardon my leaving you alone, but it seemed
unnecessary to make you cross the street."

"Oh, I didn't mind," she replied.

Marsh's real reason, however, in thus leaving Miss Atwood, was to
prevent her hearing mention of the name of Merton. Unquestionably,
the girl had read of the case in the papers, and after her own
recent experiences might feel a certain timidity in approaching the
missing broker's home; especially after her recent mention of how
the surroundings affected her.

A slight turn in the road brought them to the driveway which the
young man had described. There was no mistaking the two great pines
that stood like sentinels at either side, just back of the imposing
stone gateway. One of these trees was evidently dead, for it was
gaunt and bare, in marked contrast to its companion; and as they
paused a moment before the entrance, the wind broke off a rotting
branch, which fell at her feet. The gates of iron grill work were
standing open, and they turned in and started up the driveway, which
was covered with crushed gray stone. The house was farther from the
road than Marsh had expected, for it was several minutes before they
reached it. As he stood before the great pile of stone and wood,
with its drawn shades and general appearance of desertion, Marsh
thought of the long, winding road through the woods behind them and
half regretted that he had brought Miss Atwood with him. His desire
had been to attract as little attention as possible in his
inspection of the house. One man scouting around this lonely place
would have been a suspicious object. On the other hand, it had
seemed to him that a man and woman, out for an afternoon stroll,
might exhibit an interest in a large country-house without
attracting suspicious attention