"But, is not Dr. Bulgin married?" asked the man.
"He is. But his lady, on account of her health (she cannot bear the noise of the city), is forced to reside in the country with her father."
"Ah!" said the man.
Herman opened the front door with a night key, and led the way along a hall and up three ranges of stairs, until he came to a door. This door he opened with another key, and followed by the man, he entered Dr. Bulgin's study. He then locked the door, and they found themselves enveloped in Egyptian darkness.
"This may be Dr. Bulgin's study, but it strikes me, a little light would not do it much harm."
"Wait a moment," said Barnhurst,—"I'll light the lamp." And presently, by the aid of matches, he lighted a lamp which stood on a table of variegated marble. A globular shade of an exquisite pattern tempered the rays of the lamp, and filled the place with a light that was eminently soft and luxurious.
"Be seated," said Barnhurst, but the stranger remained standing, with his cloak wound about him and his cap drawn over his brows. He was evidently examining the details of the study with an attentive,—may be—an astonished gaze.
Dr. Bulgin's study was worthy of examination.
It was composed of the upper floor of Mrs. Smelgin's boarding-house, and was, therefore, a vast room, its depth and breadth corresponding to the depth and breadth of the house.
It was, at least, thirty yards in length and twenty in breadth, and the ceiling was of corresponding height. Four huge windows faced the east, and four the west.