The Argosy — page 201: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

184 The Mysteries of Heron Dyke. was Mr. Denison’s sitting-room. The door opened without making any noise. I peeped in. There was no one there. The Squire’s chair stood by the hearth, but it was empty, and there was no fire in the grate: it had the look of a room, ma’am, that had not been occupied for ever so long, and somehow I turned away with a chill at my heart. The next room was the Squire’s bedroom. I don’t think I should have ventured to open the door of this, but I found it open already. It was standing ajar. I listened for the sound of Mr. Denison’s breathing, supposing that he was asleep, but I could hear nothing. Then I pushed the door a little further open and looked in. If you'll believe me, ma’am, he was not there. No one was there.” ‘‘ He must have been somewhere in the room, Eliza.” ‘““He was not indeed, ma’am. The room was empty. I could hardly believe my eyes. I walked across it to the window and back again. ‘The room was all tidy, like one that is not in use; not as much as a book was about, or a chair out of place. The bed was made and the curtains folded upon it.” This news sounded wonderful. Ella could not speak. “JT felt quite frightened, ma’am. I said to myself what has be- come of the master? And I can’t fathom the mystery of where he could be, to this day.” | “There was a room beyond my uncle’s—a dark, unused room,” spoke Miss Winter. ‘‘ Did you enter that?” ‘“No, ma’am._ I tried the door of it, but it was locked, and the key gone. But the Squire, ma’am, would not be in there—in a locked-up lumber room. I said to Phemie afterwards———” Eliza stopped suddenly and coloured. Her mistress bade her, continue. ‘Well, ma’am, when I was telling Phemie of this strange thing, I said to her that the thought had come over me when I saw the empty bed and no trace of him in the room, that it looked just as if the master had been spirited away like Katherine Keen.” To this Miss Winter said nothing. ‘‘ Was it discovered that you. had been in?” she asked. ‘‘ No, ma’am, never; and this is the first time I have talked of it, except to Phemie. _I pulled the baize doors to after me when I came out, and they shut with a snap. By and by, back came Mrs. Dexter; she asked at once in the kitchen for the Squire’s beef-tea, and took it away with her. But, ma’am, what I cannot imagine is, where the Squire was all the time.” Miss Winter could not imagine, either, and lost herself in un- fathomable conjecture. After a few more questions, she dismissed the maids, charging them not to speak of this. The girl, Betsy Tucker, grew worse rather than better; and, not- withstanding all that skill and good nursing could do for her, Dr. Spreckley began to despair of her recovery. Miss Winter was startled Gomicbooks ‘EO m