"Oh, yer open that glass door right in front of ye," said the woman. "I'd go with yer, but I smell somethin' bilin' over now."
Opening the glass door, they saw before them a narrow staircase in two flights.
"Stairs shut up in a room of their own," said Ralph, as they ascended.
"Did you ever see anything like this before?"
"I never saw anything like anything before," said Miriam, in a low, reverent voice.
On the floor above they found another wide hall, and four or five open doors.
"There is your lamp," said Ralph to his sister; "take the first room you come to, and to-morrow we will pick and choose."
"Who would have thought," said Miriam, "that a woman—"
"Don't let us think or talk of her now," interrupted her brother. "To hurry down to supper is our present business."
When the two went downstairs, they found the colored woman standing by an open door in the rear of the hall.
"Supper's ready, sir," said she, and they entered the dining-room.