Desperately he threw it off, and went to open the door.

Then he reflected that it would be dark upstairs, he must have a light; and re-crossing the floor he brought the rushlight from the hearth.

Holding it aloft he opened the creaking door and began to ascend the stairs.
With every step the awe of the other world grew on him; while the shadow, which he had found at his elbow below, followed him upwards.
When he paused at the head of the flight the Syndic's face was on a level with his knee, the Syndic's eyes were fixed on his.
Claude did not understand this; but the man's company was welcome now; and the sight of Basterga's door, not three paces from the place where he stood, diverted his thoughts.

He had not been above stairs since the day of his arrival, but he knew that Basterga's room was the nearest to the stairs.

That was the door then; behind that door the Italian wrought his devilish spells! His light, smoky and wavering, cast black shadows on the walls of the passage as he moved.