The silence about her was complete, and continued for a long time.
“What did he mean? Evidently not what I did, or had in mind,” pondered the perplexed mistress of the house on the Avenue; and, as if in answer to her unspoken question, again there fell upon the stillness that startling, inexplicable ringing of a bell.
“Oh oh! There is that uncanny sound again! What can cause it? I don’t wonder the servants are frightened. I am, myself; though I know, of course, there are no such things as ghosts. And yet——”
As if in derision of her doubt, once more the bell pealed; this time both for long and violently.
CHAPTER VII.
THE END OF IT ALL.
Breathless with haste and excitement, Towsley rushed into the editorial rooms of the Express office and sank into the nearest chair to recover himself.
For a moment the group of men in the place regarded him without recognition; then one reporter exclaimed: