The Argosy — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

Mrs. Raven’s Temptation. . 3 writing a letter to Leonard. The house was quite still, and I had no idea anybody in it was up but myself.” Mrs. Raven spoke calmly, but her face was ghastly pale, and her hands were visibly trembling. ‘That shriek must have startled you terribly, I fear,” said Mrs. Connell, her kind heart melting towards her sister-in-law as she thought of the lonely widow, sitting up at midnight, writing to her son. ‘‘ Ves, it did. I—what is that?” The little party started simultaneously, and drew nearer to one another. Some stealthy movement was taking place in the hall. It proved to be the frightened servants. ‘¢ Come in, come in,” called out their master. ‘It was not either of you who screamed, I suppose ?” ‘Law, sir, no,” said the cook, ‘‘’twasn’t neither of us—why my heart’s in my mouth yet, sir. It was just a yell, sir.” “Three screams, one fast upon the other,” gasped the housemaid. “The last one was more like the other two dying away, sir.” ‘We are losing time,” said Philip. ‘‘ We had better go through the house. Not you, father; you stay here—to protect the ladies, you know,” he added, half laughing. ‘Come along, Frank.” Percy followed them, and they began their search systematically, looking not only into rooms and closets and cupboards, but into coal-boxes and warming pans. Philip was making a half joke of it. ‘We shan’t find anybody, Frank,” said he, confidentially. “IT hardly know what it ts we are looking for,” Frank answered. “Midnight robbers don’t scream to betray their presence. I take it for granted there was a scream—and a pretty shrill one: but it could not come from them.” Philip turned to look at him. ‘Did you not hear it?” he asked. “Tl heard you all running about and crying out; that was what awakened me: I heard nothing more. Of course I knew something must be wrong. At first I thought the house was on fire.” “It was a mighty squeal,” said Percy. ‘‘ You must be a sound sleeper, Frank.” “Yes, a squeal—a scream—a shriek—a _ yell—three yells,” nodded Philip. ‘‘We shan’t find anything, Frank, I tell you; but we must look everywhere, all the same.” “That of course. What was the shriek?” debated Frank. “Who made iter One of the ladies, I shouldn’t wonder.” And Philip nodded emphatically. ‘““We are not going to have any mysterious story hanging about this house,” said the young barrister. ‘It was an investment of my father’s ; and you know, as Miss Agate says, tragedy isn’t good for house property. Ten years hence, if we wanted to sell it, this story of a dreadful shriek at midnight, that could not be accounted for might rise up and lessen its value. We must sift it out, Frank.” CoOnnicloooks (GO