Soon he arrived at a window, set deeply into the wall, and casemented for defense in time of attack. But this window had long been in disuse, and even the glass had been replaced by heavy planking, to keep out the wind and weather.
There were two more stories above that one, he remembered, and he continued on, after a pause of only a moment. The second window at which he arrived was in the same condition as the first, so in clambering on, he worked to the right as well as upward, until he arrived at the top story of the old building. Here the third window offered the same impediments as had the others, so he continued on in a straight line toward the front of the castle.
Suddenly, however, he stopped. Directly in front of him, not three feet distant, a light had suddenly shot through the darkness, coming, as he quickly discovered, from one of the windows.
These were set so far back into the wall that it is doubtful if the sunlight could ever, even under the most auspicious conditions, penetrate to the interior of the room; and it was almost as difficult for a light from the interior to filter to the outside. Two steps more upon the vine which held him suspended in mid-air brought him to the window, so that he could see what was passing inside the room, and he peered cautiously around the casement.
He was rather surprised, then, to discover that he was looking into what had once been a part of a suite of rooms, set aside, doubtless, for royalty, or for especially honored guests at the castle. The room itself was very large, and had once been magnificently appointed, but now its furnishings were tawdry and soiled, yellowed with age, and musty from disuse.
Nevertheless, there were many persons within the room. Nick counted six men there. Four of them were seated at a table engaged in a game of cards, and the other two were standing near, observing the game.
They were so engrossed in their occupation that it did not occur to one of them to look toward the window. But the detective did not linger there to watch them. Instead, he lowered himself sufficiently so that he could pass unobserved beneath the window, and then continued on his way, taking careful note of the location of the room in the meantime.
He had noted, too, that he would have to pass two more windows before he arrived at one which did not open directly into that room, and so he did not pause again in his advance until he reached the third. Here, also, as he raised himself, he discovered that there was a light; but as he peered into the room through the narrow window he was assured that, for the moment, at least, it was unoccupied.
The window, too, was slightly ajar; that is, it was open perhaps half an inch, doubtless for the sake of ventilation. He stepped into the embrasure, which was very deep, and slowly pushed the window open in front of him. A second and more comprehensive glance rendered him positive that nobody was in the room, and with another slightly harder pressure, he opened the casement wide, and stepped inside, closing it, as he had found it, after him.