It was shiftless, it was sinful--it boded no good to the future of Demorest.
He put down his carpet-bag on the veranda and entered the broad hall, where an old-fashioned lantern was burning on a stand.

Here, too, the doors of the various apartments were open, and the rooms themselves empty of occupants.

An opportunity not to be lost by Ezekiel's inquiring mind thus offered itself.

He took the lantern and deliberately examined the several apartments, the furniture, the bedding, and even the small articles that were on the tables and mantels.

When he had completed the round--including a corridor opening on a dark courtyard, which he did not penetrate--he returned to the hall, and set down the lantern again.
"Well," said a voice in his own familiar vernacular, "I hope you like it." Ezekiel was surprised, but not disconcerted.