Jess had risen and stood there, staring toward the doorway into the hall, her eyes filled with terror.

Roy rose, too.  He realized that the noise was not likely to be made by his brother or sister, and the servant slept in the rear of the house and always used the back stairs.  He had often wondered whether he would be brave in a time of real danger as fellows in the books he read were.  He did not feel by any means comfortable now.  But he was not actually terrified.

“I’ll go up and see what it is, Jess,” he said, and started toward the door.

But his sister flung herself upon him, the tears starting from her eyes.

“Don’t leave me or I shall die,” she moaned.

She drew him back toward a sofa in the far corner of the room, and held him tightly by the wrist.

The noise from above drew nearer.  They made it out to be the creaking of the stairs.

Jess was trembling frightfully.  Roy could almost hear her teeth chatter.  He wished that he could think of something to say to make her feel less terrified.  He was sure if he had been a boy in a book he could have thought of something.

He determined to ask Mr. Keeler in the morning what would be the proper thing under the circumstances.  Then he laughed out half hysterically as he realized that it would hardly be the thing to mention the matter to Mr. Keeler.

Jess heard the laugh and it frightened her more than ever.  She thought Roy was more terrified even than she and was losing control of himself.

Nearer and nearer came the creak of descending footsteps.  Roy started to go to the door.  He felt that he could not remain in suspense an instant longer.

But Jess held him back.

“Don’t, Roy,” she whispered.  “He will kill you.”

And at that instant a man’s form passed the doorway.

It was Mr. Keeler.  He had on his trousers, shirt and shoes, but nothing else.  His hair was all rumpled and one hand was stretched out in front of him as though he had been feeling his way.

He halted for an instant at the foot of the stairs and turned his face toward the library.  Then Roy saw that his eyes were closed.

“He’s walking in his sleep,” he whispered to Jess.  “I must go and wake him or he may do himself some damage.”

“Let him alone.  He may go out and then we can lock the door against him.”

“Jess, would you be as cruel as that?”

“Perhaps he isn’t asleep.  He may be only shamming.”

“I’m going to find out at any rate.  There, he’s fumbling with the lock.  You’d better take the opportunity to go up stairs.”

Jess still held on to her brother’s wrist, but now she suffered herself to be led across the floor to the hall, reaching which, she let go and sped up stairs.  Roy turned at once and laid bis hand on the shoulder of their guest.

Some way his fears and suspicions of the man had all departed.