and begged the story of his own adventure. He smiled queerly.

"Very well, you shall have it!" he answered.

They seated themselves, and the company came from all parts of the
room--among the rest, Lufa and Walter.

"It was three days, if I remember," began Sefton, "after my military
friend left, when one night I found myself alone in the drawing-room,
just waked from a brown study. No one had said good-night to me. I
looked at my watch; it was half past eleven. I rose and went. My bedroom
was on the first-floor.

"The stairs were peculiar--a construction later than much of the house,
but by no means modern. When you reached the landing of the first-floor
and looked up, you could see above you the second-floor, descended by a
balustrade between arches. There were no carpets on stairs or landings,
which were all of oak.

"I can not certainly say what made me look up; but I think, indeed I am
almost sure, I had heard a noise like that the ghost was said to make,
as of one walking in shoes too large: I saw a lady looking down over the
balusters on the second-floor. I thought some one was playing me a
trick, and imitating the ghost, for the ladies had been chaffing me a
good deal that night; they often do. She wore an old-fashioned, browny,
silky looking dress. I rushed up to see who was taking the rise out of
me. I looked up at her as I ran, and she kept looking down, but
apparently not at me. Her face was that of a middle-aged woman,
beginning, indeed, to be old, and had an intent, rather troubled look, I
should say; but I did not consider it closely.