I should not sit in the
dark near windows still unshuttered. I should not allow any strangers to
enter the house, and I should have a couple of good dogs running loose
about the premises. I have brought Brenda with me as a beginning, and I
think I know where to lay my hand on a good old collie, who will stay
near any house I am in, and let no one trespass about it with impunity."
"Good heavens! Munro, you don't mean to say you think the man would
_murder_ me!" I exclaimed.
"I don't know what he might, or might not do," he replied. "There is
something about this house he is afraid may be found out, and he is
afraid you will find it out. Unless I am greatly mistaken, a great deal
depends upon the secret being preserved intact. At present we can only
surmise its nature; but I mean, in the course of a few days, to know
more of Mr. Harringford's antecedents than he might be willing to
communicate to anyone. What is the matter with you, Hal? You look as
white as a corpse."
"I was only thinking," I answered, "of one evening last week, when I
fell asleep in the drawing-room, and woke in a fright, imagining I saw
that horrid light streaming out from the library, and a face pressed up
close to the glass of the window on my left hand peering into the room.
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