Elusive, intangible, it yet seemed to encompass her and the snoring man by her side, almost as a vapour might have done.
Mrs.Bunting sat up in bed and sniffed; and then, in spite of the cold, she quietly crept out of her nice, warm bedclothes, and crawled along to the bottom of the bed.

When there, Mr.Sleuth's landlady did a very curious thing; she leaned over the brass rail and put her face close to the hinge of the door giving into the hall.

Yes, it was from here that this strange, horrible odor was coming; the smell must be very strong in the passage.
As, shivering, she crept back under the bedclothes, she longed to give her sleeping husband a good shake, and in fancy she heard herself saying, "Bunting, get up! There's something strange and dreadful going on downstairs which we ought to know about." But as she lay there, by her husband's side, listening with painful intentness for the slightest sound, she knew very well that she would do nothing of the sort.
What if the lodger did make a certain amount of mess--a certain amount of smell--in her nice clean kitchen?
Was he not--was he not an almost perfect lodger?
If they did anything to upset him, where could they ever hope to get another like him?
Three o'clock struck before Mrs.Bunting heard slow, heavy steps creaking up the kitchen stairs.

But Mr.Sleuth did not go straight up to his own quarters, as she had expected him to do.

Instead, he went to the front door, and, opening it, put on the chain.