Candle in hand, Jack quickly ascended through the rest of the house, after finding, in the lower hallway, a stout stick that he picked up. With this club he felt he had a weapon to be depended upon at need.
But there was nothing in the rest of the little three-story house to throw any light upon the habits of Millard, or the place for which that worthy had departed.
In one upper room Benson found a small mirror hung from a nail in the wall. In this same room was a small trunk, lid up and empty.
Back to the basement Jack returned. At the rear he found a small yard. Beyond that a fence, with a gate in it. The gate was unlocked. On a nail at the edge of the gateway Jack found a fluttering fragment of gray veiling.
"A woman has left here," thought Jack, holding the fragment of veiling in his hand. "Or else Millard got away disguised as a woman. That trunk may have held woman's apparel for the very purposes of such an escape."
This rear gateway opened upon a long, narrow alley that led to a street beyond.
Having satisfied himself on this point, Benson stepped back into the yard.
"Hold on! Here's something that will help," muttered the boy, staring down curiously at the ground.
It was the imprint of a foot in a wet spot on the ground. As Jack bent over it he saw the marks of diagonal criss-crossing such as is found in the soles of rubbers.
"The print is a fresh one. Either Millard wore rubbers away, or some woman has been here who wore them," Jack concluded.