Very gradually—oh, with what slow, exquisite caution I can scarcely convey!—I forced myself to turn around and face the unknown entity whose steps I had heard so distinctly. But in the dull illumination provided by the oil lamp, I saw that there was nothing behind me: only the empty room—and the darkened corridor—and the gloomy doorway of the little parlor directly across from the bedchamber.

A mirthless chuckle escaped from my lips, as I chided myself for the inordinate violence of my reaction. “To have experienced such intense trepidation at what must have been a mere household rodent, scampering over the floor,” I said aloud. “Surely, Eddie, you have been beside yourself this day!”

As a result of the fresh draft of night air issuing through the partially open window, the temperature inside the bedchamber was cool to the point of chilliness. Even so, the sudden fright I had just endured had caused my brow to bead with perspiration. Desiring to dry my forehead, I reached into my trouser pocket for my handkerchief. As I extracted this article, a coin fell from my pocket and, striking the floor, rolled underneath the bed.

In view of my lamentable pecuniary circumstances, I could scarcely afford to sacrifice a coin of even the most trivial denomination. Getting to my knees, I peered into the shadows beneath the bedstead. The illumination issuing from the oil lamp that stood upon the dining table, however, was insufficiently bright to permit me to penetrate the darkness. Standing erect, I stepped to the table, clasped the lamp by its base, carried it back to the bedside and—reverting to my kneeling position—made a renewed effort to locate the errant coin.

I now had a dear, well-illuminated, and unobstructed view. The coin, however, was nowhere to be seen. As I slowly moved the lamp to and fro, surveying the entire area beneath the bedstead, I perceived a possible explanation for this surprising circumstance. One of the floorboards was partially raised, as though it had come loose from the surrounding planks, thus creating a noticeable gap into which the rolling coin might easily have disappeared.

This minor structural irregularity was perfectly in keeping with the generally dilapidated state of the apartment. Nevertheless, there was something about the sight of this partially dislodged floorboard that sent a sudden, premonitory chill coursing through my frame. I had no doubt that Colonel Crockett and the others had made the most thorough examination imaginable of the little dwelling. Montague’s bedchamber had clearly been searched from ceiling to floor. There was one place, however, where my fellow investigators had, I felt sure, not thought to look:

The area below the floor!