Chapter V: Exploring the Old House

WHEN they reached home, Duke was put to bed, where he remained for the rest of the day. His mother would not let him talk of what had happened.

"Thank God that your life was spared, my boy," she said, "and then try to forget it all in sleep."

Duke did try to thank God as he lay still, feeling strangely awed.

"Mother," said Noel, as they sat at dinner together, "are you glad that Duke was so brave?"

"Oh, yes, I am glad," said Mrs. Dryden, though tears sprang to her eyes, "I want my boys to be brave. And yet I don't know how I should have felt if he had been drowned. It seems to me I could not have borne it."

"I told him to go, mother, so it would have been my fault if he had been drowned," Noel said gravely. "I felt dreadful when I saw him go under, yet I thought God would save him somehow, and He did."

"Oh, we can never thank Him enough that it ended happily," said Mrs. Bryden.

"But we must go on being brave," said Noel.

"Yes," said his mother, "you must go on being brave. There is nothing I more desire than that my boys should grow up to be brave, good men—Jesus Christ's men. You know that He was the bravest, noblest Man that ever lived upon this earth. If you truly follow Him, your lives cannot but be heroic, it seems to me."

On the following day Duke seemed just as usual; but there could be no going down to the shore that morning. The sky was dark, and a wild stormy wind prevailed, which beat in fierce squalls against the house, accompanied by drenching showers. It was plain that the boys must find amusement indoors. By this time the front rooms were in the hands of the workmen.

Ever since he arrived, Duke had felt a longing to explore the old part of the house, but as long as fine weather lasted the attractions of the outer world proved stronger.

A stout door, locked and bolted, separated the inhabited part of the house from the old portion, used only by the eccentric Mr. Alan. One of the servants opened the door for the boys. Their mother had too many matters in hand that morning to be able to accompany them.

This door admitted them into a narrow passage, passing along which they came to a small square hall, and from this a narrow twisted staircase ascended.

"The tower! the tower!" cried Duke, and darted up the steps. Noel followed swiftly, in fear of being left far behind, for the stairway was narrow and dark; but it was not long, and they quickly emerged into a tiny square chamber, with a window occupying nearly the whole of each side. All the boys could see from it at this time, however, was grey mist and driving rain. There was no furniture save a tall, three-legged stool.

"I say," exclaimed Duke, "what a jolly view there must be from here when it's clear!"

"We can't see anything now," remarked Noel, "and it's awfully cold."

"So it is," said Duke. "We'll go down again. We haven't seen Mr. Alan's room."

"Where is it?" Noel asked.

"That's what we've got to find out," responded his brother as he ran down the steps.

There was a door very near the foot of the stairs, but it was locked. Peeping through the keyhole, Duke saw enough to convince him that it was Mr. Alan's room.

"Mother did not say it was locked," said Noel.

"She did not say it was not," replied Duke. "Let us see if there is not a key in one of the other doors that will open it."

Just then Noel's eyes spied a key lying under a step in the bend of the stairway. Duke pushed it into the lock and found that it turned it easily.

The room they entered was small and comfortably furnished, but it seemed to be in an amazing state of disorder. A large writing-table was littered with books, papers, diagrams, stones and other things which seemed to the boys mere rubbish. The table had several drawers, and more than one of them stood open, showing the contents thrown together in the utmost confusion.

"He did leave his things in a muddle when he went away," said Noel, wide-eyed with wonder.

"And here's his pipe on the mantelpiece," said Duke. "Now would you have expected that Mr. Alan would smoke a short black stump like this?"

"You forget he is a miser," said Noel. "He would not like to buy a better one."

"Hulloa!" exclaimed Duke. "Look here! He's been eating bread and cheese! Did you ever!"

As Duke touched the paper with his foot, a mouse darted from beneath it, and Noel uttered a scream.

"What a coward you are, Noel! You're as bad as a girl. They always scream when they see a mouse."

"Hulloa!" said Duke, as he examined the relics more closely. "This cannot be his bread and cheese. Do you see the date on this paper? Yesterday was the 12th of August."

"P'raps one of the workmen brought it up here," suggested Noel. "They have bread and cheese for dinner."

"But why in the world should he come here to eat it? I shouldn't think Mr. Alan would like him to make so free with his room."

"How could he get into this part of the house?" asked Noel. "The door is kept locked."

"I guess a workman would know how to get in if he wanted to," said Duke. "Besides, there's a door in the hall below. I think it opens on to the down, just below the tower. I've often noticed it from the outside. Let's go and see."

They ran downstairs and were crossing the hall when Noel clutched his brother by the sleeve.

"Duke," he whispered, "there's a man in that room we've just passed."

"A man, Noel? Nonsense!"

"But there is. I saw him through the chink of the door."

Duke was for going back to see, but Noel in terror pushed him into the next room and implored him not to go. The nest moment they heard a heavy step cross the hall and a door closed with a bang.

Duke ran to the window and looked out. He caught sight of a man disappearing in the mist.

"He's gone, whoever he was," he said, "What was there to be so frightened about?"

"Was it one of the workmen?" asked Noel, feeling ashamed.

"I don't know. He didn't look much like one. He had on a rough sort of coat like sailors wear."

Duke went across the hall to examine the door. It opened easily. They stood for a moment looking forth on the wet turf and driving rain.

"He shan't come in again this way," said Duke, as he shut the door and pushed the rusty bolts into their sockets; there was no key. Then they dismissed the man from their minds, and went back to Mr. Alan's room.