At each step had fallen a bit of snow, and close to the door was a space of the bare floor soppy and stained.

At that point the intruder had stood for some moments without moving.
For several seconds Philip stared at the evidences of a prowling visitor without making a move himself.

It was not without a certain thrill of uneasiness that he went to the window and closed it.

It did not take him long to assure himself that nothing in the room had been touched.

He could find no other marks of feet except those which led directly from the window to the door, and this fact was sufficient proof that whoever had visited his room had come as a listener and a spy and not as a thief.
It occurred to Philip now that he had found his door unlatched and slightly ajar when he entered.