Somehow, the discovery gave Theydon a veritable thrill.
Could that pretty girl's father, by any chance, be coming to visit him?
A wildly improbable development had been whittled down to a five-to-one chance.

He closed the window and waited, yes, actually waited, for the bell to ring! The sitting room door was open, and it faced the hall door.

Footsteps sounded sharply on the slate steps of the stairway; when Theydon heard some one climbing to the topmost landing he was almost convinced that, as usual, the unexpected was about to happen.

It did happen, but took its own peculiar path.

The unknown rang the bell of No.