Then I walked across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded across it.

It was a wonderfully silent house.

There was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise everything was deadly still.

A vague feeling of uneasiness began to steal over me.

Who were these German people, and what were they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place?
And where was the place?
I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no idea.