Almost before he realised that he was trespassing, he was standing on the lawn of the house he had seen from the sea.
SCENE II
THE UNEXPECTED WELCOME
A veranda, overhung by rambler roses, ran the full length of the front of the house.
Through the diamond panes of low lattice windows, the fitful glow of firelight gleamed.
The Lonely Man hesitated, half turned away, then, drawn by an irresistible attraction, stepped on to the veranda, stood in the shadow, and looked in at a window.
The room was so large, and its occupants so far from the windows, that the silent intruder had small need to fear detection.
His first furtive glance into the interior awakened, with a sudden throb, more strongly than ever before, that illusive sense of home.
He drew nearer.
A long, low room; the many windows running half the length of the veranda, a cushioned window seat beneath them. A door, on his left, opened on to the veranda. At the opposite side of the room, another door, standing ajar, led into a large hall. At the top of the room, on his right, a log fire burned in the huge fireplace. The leaping flames illumined the oak panelling and played on the carved beams in the ceiling. Persian rugs, in soft tints of blue and rose, lay upon the polished parquet.
A couch, on the further side of the fireplace, and at right-angles to it, faced the windows. In the centre, opposite the hearth, stood two large easy chairs.