The footsteps of Denzil and Berwin sounding on the bare boards--for the hall was uncarpeted--waked hollow echoes, and when they paused the silence which ensued seemed almost menacing.

The grim reputation of the mansion, its gloom and silence, appealed powerfully to the latent superstition of Lucian.

How much more nearly, then, would it touch the shaken and excited nerves of the tragic drunkard who dwelt continually amid its terrors! Berwin opened a door on the right-hand side of the hall and turned up the light of a handsome oil-lamp which had been screwed down pending his arrival.

This lamp was placed on a small square table covered with a white cloth and a dainty cold supper.

The young barrister noted that the napery, cutlery, and crystal were all of the finest; that the viands were choice; that champagne and claret were the beverages.