A quarter of an hour's walking brought them to the Hall.

The snow had ceased falling now and the night was beautifully clear, but before it ceased it had done a welcome office in hiding from view all the litter and wreckage of the auction, which make the scene of a recent sale one of the most desolate sights in the world.

Never had the old house looked grander or more eloquent of the past than it did on that night to the two brothers who were dispossessed of their heritage.
They wandered round it in silence, gazing affectionately at each well-known tree and window, till at length they came to the gun-room entrance.

More from habit than for any other reason Leonard turned the handle of the door.

To his surprise it was open; after the confusion of the sale no one had remembered to lock it.
"Let us go in," he said.
They entered and wandered from room to room till they reached the greater hall, a vast and oak-roofed chamber built after the fashion of the nave of a church, and lighted by a large window of ecclesiastical design.