Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/90

 76 region; he would have lists of names, and memoranda of meetings, containing information which would help me greatly in my quest. An exploration could not be a matter of any great danger, and might yield me the very knowledge I sought.

I had almost determined on this course when I came to the cross-road, which I knew ran directly in front of the house. It was already growing dark, clouds hanging low over the valley, and, as I paused irresolute, a cold drizzle set in, the north wind sweeping the dampness into my face. Determined by this I turned aside into the new road, and pressed forward, only anxious now to find shelter. The road twisted about along the bank of a small stream shadowed by trees on either side. I passed the ruins of the mill, but beyond the night closed about me so dark that objects became shapeless, and I even found difficulty in following the path, although it was seemingly a well traveled road. Only detached sections of rail fence remained standing, and I should have stumbled blindly past the very place I sought but for the high stone pillars which marked the place where the gate had once been. These guided me to the driveway, and I groped a passage through the grove of trees to the front steps.

The great house loomed before me black and silent. If I had ever questioned its desertion its