Leslie felt that it would be indiscreet to offer encouragement to a further discussion of this subject, for she was as reluctant to spend the night under that roof as her newfound friend.

49

Though she waited up till nearly eleven, she did not see Dick, and, in response to the repeated hints of the other girl, they went upstairs together.

The Manor was lighted by a power plant which was accommodated in a small shed midway between the house and the Ravensrill, and owed its installation to Dick’s enterprise.

Harry always had candles in his room, Mary told her, but accepted the lighting of his library as a compromise.

“It’s a very strange thing,” said Mary from her inner room, “but Harry was afraid of electricity. In thunderstorms he always went down into the cellar and stayed there until they were over. He used to have a bed which was made every day in the summer, in case of a storm coming on in the night, and–”

At that moment all the lights in the room went out.

“Have you turned the lights off?” asked Mary’s anxious voice.

“No, I haven’t been near the switch; I expect a fuse has gone,” said the girl.

There were matches and candles on the dressing-table, she remembered, and, groping her way to the table, she lit the two candles. Mary was standing in the doorway, very pale and wide-eyed.

“What was the meaning of that?” she asked, her voice sharp with fear, which was beginning to communicate itself to Leslie.

She forced a smile.

“That happens in the best-regulated houses,” she said, with spurious gaiety. “The door is locked, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

And then she heard footsteps in the corridor; there was a knock at the door that made Mary jump.

“Are you there, Leslie?” It was Dick’s voice. “Something has gone wrong with the lighting arrangements; we’ll put it right in a minute or two.”

“Are the lights out everywhere?” asked Mary, but he was gone.

Twenty minutes passed and again Leslie heard his footsteps approaching.

“I’m afraid we shan’t be able to fix up the lights till the morning. Have you candles? Did Glover put a flashlight for you?”

“We’ve everything we want,” said Leslie. “Don’t worry about us: we shall be asleep in ten minutes.”

“Not me,” murmured Miss Wenner tremulously. “I shan’t sleep a wink!”

By the light of her candle she had replaced most of the garments she had discarded when the lights went out.

“I knew I oughtn’t to have stayed – there’s somebody coming along the corridor!”

“It is only Mr Alford.”

But her ears caught the sound of two pairs of feet, and presently Dick’s voice spoke.

“Do you mind if I leave one of Puttler’s men outside your door?” he asked. “Don’t be alarmed if you hear him walking about in the night.”