"Professor Cardington lives here," he remarked, "and you may have the
opposite suite, if you like. The rooms are secluded and command a fine
view in either direction. These are the only apartments in the tower,
and they are ordinarily reserved for the bachelors of the faculty."

Leigh would fain have turned in to examine the rooms he then and there
decided to accept, but the bishop continued to climb upward, and he was
obliged to put aside his curiosity for the time. The stone stairs had
now come to an end, and were replaced by stairs of iron, protected by a
railing, which followed the walls through successive floors and past
slits of windows that framed distant views of the sunny landscape
below. At last they came to a door, which the bishop unlocked. There
was one more flight of stairs, narrower and darker than the others.
Then they raised a trapdoor and stepped forth upon the roof of the
tower.

For a few moments the intense light of the noonday sun was dazzling,
and they stood basking gratefully in the warmth that presented a
striking contrast with the chill shadows from which they had emerged.
Leigh observed that he stood upon a platform some fifty feet square,
surrounded by a parapet that extended at least a foot above his head.
This wall, however, did not shut out the prospect entirely, for the
regular depressions of its castellated edge formed a series of
embrasures through which it was possible for a man of average height to
look out over the surrounding country. The tiled floor sloped slightly
toward each corner, where apertures could be seen leading into four
long stone troughs that spouted water in rainy weather. The enclosure
collected and held both the light and the heat of the sun, and the
bishop remarked that for some time after dark the tiles remained warm
to the touch.