Mrs.Packard, when free and light-hearted, was a delightful companion and the meal passed off cheerily.

When we rose and the mayor left us for some necessary business it was with a look of satisfaction in my direction which was the best possible preparation for my approaching tete-a-tete with his moody and incomprehensible wife.
But I was not destined to undergo the contemplated ordeal this evening.
Guests were announced whom Mrs.Packard kindly invited me to meet, but I begged to be allowed to enjoy the library.

I had too much to consider just now, to find any pleasure in society.

Three questions filled my mind.
What was Mrs.Packard's secret trouble?
Why were people afraid to remain in this house?
Why did the old woman next door show such interest in the new member of her neighbor's household?
Would a single answer cover all?
Was there but one cause for each and every one of these peculiarities?
Probably, and it was my duty to ferret out this cause.

But how should I begin?
I remembered what I had read about detectives and their methods, but the help I thus received was small.