to the side entrance. The saloon and restaurant room I was anxious to
evade, for there would doubtless be a barkeeper and several loiterers
about. It could not be avoided, however. As I neared the bottom of the
stairs, I saw that a door led from the hallway to the saloon, and that
it was open.

I moved slowly down, a step at a time, then from over-cautiousness
tripped and came down the last three steps at once with the clatter of
a four-horse team.

But nobody stirred. Then I glanced through the open door, and was
stricken cold with astonishment. The room was empty!

The chairs and tables that a few hours ago I had seen scattered about
were gone. There was no sign that the place had been occupied in
months.

I stepped into the room that I had seen crowded with eager friends and
enemies, eating, drinking, ready for desperate deeds. My step echoed
strangely with the echo of an untenanted house. The bar and the shelves
behind it were swept clear of the bottles and glasses that had filled
them. Dust was thick over the floor and walls. The windows were stained
and dirty, and a paper sign on each pane informed the passers-by that
the house was "To Let."

Bewildered and apprehensive, I wondered whether, after all, the events
of the night, the summons from Dicky Nahl, the walk in the darkness,
the scene in the saloon, the encounter with the snake-eyed man, the
riot, the rush up the dark stair, and the interview with the old crone,
were not a fantastic vision from the land of dreams.