"Oh, please do not leave me here alone. I am not naturally timid, yet
everything is so gloomy I cannot stand it. Let me go with you, if you
must go!"

"Most assuredly you shall if you desire," I returned heartily. "But
really there is not a particle of danger in this, for if the house were
inhabited its occupants would have been aroused long ago. Follow just
behind me, and we shall soon solve the mystery."

There appeared before us a dim, little-used path leading in among the
trees, and following its erratic curves we were soon before the cabin,
which grew ever more uninviting as we drew near. As I paused a moment
before the closed door, in order that I might listen for any possible
sound within, I could hear her quick breathing, as though the terror of
the moment had driven all else from her mind.

"Do not feel frightened," I said, seeking to reassure her. "There is
nothing here more terrifying than a vacant house, doubtless long since
deserted. We shall discover nothing more formidable within than a rat
or two."

The wooden latch yielded readily enough to my pressure, and pushing
wide open the door, which creaked slightly upon its rusty hinges, I
stepped across the puncheon threshold onto the hard earthen floor.
There was no window visible, and the slight reflection of moonlight
which crept in through the doorway scarcely revealed the nature of that
dark interior. I could dimly perceive what I believed to be a table
directly in front of me, while certain other indistinct and ill defined
shadows might be chairs pushed back against the wall. At least this