But a great surprise awaited her; in fact, when Mr. Sleuth's
landlady opened the door of the drawing-room she very nearly dropped
the tray. She actually did drop the Bible, and it fell with a heavy
thud to the ground.

The new lodger had turned all those nice framed engravings of the
early Victorian beauties, of which Mrs. Bunting had been so proud,
with their faces to the wall!

For a moment she was really too surprised to speak. Putting the
tray down on the table, she stooped and picked up the Book. It
troubled her that the Book should have fallen to the ground; but
really she hadn't been able to help it--it was mercy that the
tray hadn't fallen, too.

Mr. Sleuth got up. "I--I have taken the liberty to arrange the
room as I should wish it to be," he said awkwardly. "You see,
Mrs.--er--Bunting, I felt as I sat here that these women's eyes
followed me about. It was a most unpleasant sensation, and gave
me quite an eerie feeling."

The landlady was now laying a small tablecloth over half of the
table. She made no answer to her lodger's remark, for the good
reason that she did not know what to say.

Her silence seemed to distress Mr. Sleuth. After what seemed a
long pause, he spoke again.

"I prefer bare walls, Mrs. Bunting," he spoke with some agitation.
"As a matter of fact, I have been used to seeing bare walls about