Bat Wing

mile. The big, up-to-date car which Colonel Menendez had placed at our disp

!" he said,

. This, indeed, was very beautiful. The lane along which we were speeding was narrow, winding, and over-arched by trees. Here a

was only some twenty miles behind. A fit place this for elves and fairies to survive, a spot in which the presence of a modern automobile seemed a desecration. Higher we mounted and higher, the engine r

urned, and, mee

olly, sir

one tower somewhat resembling a campanile, which uprose

Harley, "the

by the eccentric and wealthy man whose name it bore. He had had a mania for building houses with towers, in which his rival-and contemporary-had been

was something pathetic in the presence of this lonely English girl in so singular a household; for if the menage at Cray's Folly sh

y ancient cottages, but no trace of the modern builder. This was a fragment of real Old England, and I was not

ot say, but he preserved an unbroken silence up

p clever enough in its way, but of an ornate kind more in keeping with

es, and we entered upon a winding drive literally tunnelled through the trees. Of the house we had never a glimpse until

monastery," mu

of the Victorian gentleman who had expended thousands of pounds upon erecting this house was only equalled, I thought, by that of Colonel Menendez, who had chosen it for a home. An out-jutting wing shut us in on the west, and

oaken doors were thrown open, and there, framed in the mo

cried, "welcome

sunlight seemed even more Mephistophele

side-whiskers like a bull fighter appeared behind his master; a sall

bled a studio, being partly lighted by a most curious dome. It was furnished in a manner quite un-English, but very luxuriously. A magnificent oaken staircase com

resemblance. Her hands were very slender and beautiful, and when, as the Colonel presented us, she extended her fingers, I was not surprised to see Harley stoop and kiss them in Continental fashion; for this Madame eviden

face certainly formed a delightful oval, and there was a wistful look in her eyes which was half appealing and half impish. Her demure expression was not convincing, and there rested a vague smile, or promise of a smile, upon lips which were perfectly mo

d you to Madame, my cousin, permit me to present you to Miss

sharply with the Continental manner of Madame. Her face flu

ly, "you are quite at home. Pedro will show you to

verley, wheeled her chair away at a great rate under a sort of arch on the right

nd guiding us upstairs followed by Pedro and the chauffeur, the latter carrying our grips.

odern builder crazy. Oak had simply been lavished upon it. My own room, which was almost directly above the box hedge to which I have referred, had a be

Colonel, and truly enough the view from the

ken garden, but the best view of this was from the window of Harley's room, which because it was the end room on the

n paths. There were bushes exhibiting fantastic examples of the topiary art, and here, too, was a sun-dial. My first impression of this beautiful spot was one of delight. Later I was to regard that

e famous tower?" he enquired. "It is not visible

ich is disused. I keep it locked up. There are four rooms in the tower and a st

Harley, "or it may have been merely a freak of his client. Is th

"It is the same as the others below, except that there is a stair lead

ntly was not altogether pleasing to our host. I concluded that he had found the east wing

my own room, but before long I rejoined Harley

claimed. "What

out of the window, nor d

?" I said,

ced at

he replied; "but

and," I sa

, as are all the powers which belong to the realm of genius or inspiration. Often enough it failed him entirely, he had assured me, that odd,

atmosphere keenly, seeking for the note of danger. It was sheer intuition, perhaps, but w

al menace overhang

face. "There is something very, very

the idea that he has be

eflected for

id. "There is something bizarre, something unclean-I

foreign

shook h

with all of them," he replied, "but the danger d