Page:Arthur Stringer--The House of Intrigue.djvu/253

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THE HOUSE OF INTRIGUE
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the hall without was quite dim. But for one shadowy moment I caught sight of a shadowy figure in white. It seemed to be the figure of a young woman. The face of this figure during that brief view, appeared to be as white as the floating white of the clothing she wore. She did not speak.

Before she disappeared, however, one thin white hand was stretched forward, toward me, I thought at the time, and was then withdrawn. The next moment I heard the tinkle of metal on the hardwood floor at my feet. I looked down, quickly. As I did so the door swung shut. A moment later the electrics flowered into light, controlled apparently by some switch outside the room. And I stood there feeling exactly as Horatio must have felt that night in front of Elsinore Castle when the ghost of Hamlet's father gave him the once over.

"Baddie," I said to myself out loud, "either you're seeing things again or there's something around this house that's escaped the undertaker!"