Page:Weird Tales volume 32 number 01.djvu/40

 and the Continent have been unanswered. Of course we have no description of her; so it would be useless to have you tell us what your Lilith looked like."

"She was very beautiful," sighed the man.

"And evidently very dangerous," commented the lawyer. "But fortunately our firm has never interested itself in the criminal side of the law, and I can simply say that I have a human but not a professional interest in your story of triple escape from a potential murderess. Will you meet me at the front door of the house at five-thirty tonight? Better bring an overcoat, rubbers and something to eat and drink during the night."

"Rubbers?" asked the man. "I thought you said the roof had been kept in repair."

"It has. But the dust, man! Can you imagine a house unopened for a hundred years? Unopened, unaired, unentered, uncleaned? We cannot tell what state it is in."

"That is true. I will wear them, and bring along something to eat and a bottle of wine, and perhaps some candles. Of course there is neither gas nor electricity in the house."

"Of course not. The house has not been opened for a hundred years, and gas and electricity were unknown when it was occupied. I have often wondered just why it was to be occupied for one night and then torn down. Evidently some peculiar fancy on the part of your ancestor. And here is something interesting. He had two sons. One simply disappeared and the other lived on to keep the family alive. There is something that has always interested me. One son disappears, the father shuts the house, makes his will and kills himself. And now one hundred years later the only one of the family alive enters the house with a lawyer, and whatever mystery there is will be solved."

"And I suppose you will represent your firm tonight?"

"Absolutely. I grew up with this mystery as one of the most precious parts of our legal firm. In fact I think I would have died years ago. But I was determined to be there when the house was opened, and that kept me alive. I simply had to stay there in the office, as the oldest member of the firm, year by year waiting till I could enter the house. So I will be seeing you at five-thirty, and don't forget the rubbers."

"I will be there," answered the man. "And the more I think of it, the more determined I am to bring whisky instead of wine. I may need something like whisky before the night is over—to wash the dust down my throat."

ROMPTLY the two men met at the front door of the old house. The old lawyer, who evidently thought of everything, pulled a large key out of one pocket of his overcoat and a can of oil out of the other pocket.

"The lock may be rusty," he explained as he oiled the key and squirted some oil gravely into the keyhole. "A lock unused for a hundred years may be very rusty, but it was a good lock and a stout key, and with a little oil and patience we can open the door. Ah! I can feel it turn. Now you will excuse me if I pause and take a tablet of nitroglycerin. An anginal attack at this time would certainly spoil my pleasure."

He waited and then swung the front door open.

"We will wait a little while and then we will go in. I have two electric searchlights. You take one. Turn it on. Just as I expected! This front room is the parlor, with elegant draperies, furnishings and carpet. Look at the dust! Several inches