"They consist of a series of assaults on those who have occupied the house, and they are conducted in such a way that detection has been impossible.

"One evening Mrs. Mark was heard to shriek in her bedroom, and when found by her husband was insane from fright. In her ravings she spoke of a terrible thing choking her, and of a swishing sound. She never regained her reason, and is now in an insane asylum. Alienists at first thought that she had an experience common to those going mad—that she had been subject to a delusion. But evidences were against this, as she had in no way shown any signs of mental trouble before. While she was being cared for at the Mansion, the two nurses in charge had similar experiences. They reported hearing a tread on the stairs one night and of seeing a figure disappear into the dining-room. One stated up and down that it was a woman.

"The patient was removed from the place. Then Mr. Odell Mark received such a scare one night that he packed up and left the Mansion for good. He was assaulted by an invisible party from behind, and only escaped after a severe struggle. Whoever, or [Pg 28]whatever, assaulted him disappeared in an instant, and he swore that he heard the closing of a door somewhere downstairs.

[Pg 28]

"Everything was done to keep the truth quiet, but of course it leaked out and the place has been regarded as haunted ever since. The servants left, save a few of the oldest, who live away from the Mansion under a separate roof, and have never seen anything unusual."

"That sounds very thrilling," I said; "but the affair may all be founded on nervous dread and hysteria."

"So I thought," said Oakes. "I went up there alone recently, however, and am glad to say that I got back alive."

"What! Did you see it?"

"No, gentlemen, I did not. There was nothing to see; but I learned enough to know that murder stalks there in the Mansion—that the mystery is a deep one, and my conduct nearly cost me my life.

"I have faced danger often, but I never faced an invisible violence, or had such a fight for my life as I had at the Mansion about three weeks ago." [Pg 29]

[Pg 29]

Quintus Oakes was speaking earnestly, and we both were deeply interested. That the celebrated detective should have met such an experience placed 

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