In the rear was a swampy bog, out of which the house seemed to rise like a castle out of a moat.

On either side gaunt trees crowded, overhanging the chimneys with their creaking boughs.

There was no sound but the drip of the water from the roof, and the sobbing of the breeze among the trees, and now and again the hoot of an owl across the swamp which set me shivering.
Tim boldly marched up to the front door and tried it.

It was fast and padlocked.

The windows on the ground-floor were closely shuttered and equally secure.
We groped our way round to the rear, keeping close to the wall to avoid the water.