by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood

“ She read it aloud. "We must cease combing the criminal world for the Bat and look higher. He may be a merchant—a lawyer—a doctor—honored in his community by day and at night a bloodthirsty assassin——" The print blurred before her eyes—she could read no more for the moment. ”

“ Then, to Miss Cornelia's relief, she was silent for nearly two minutes, only to start so violently at the end of the time that she nearly upset the ouija-board on her mistress's toes.
"I've got a queer feeling in my fingers—all the way up my arms," she whispered in awed accents, wriggling the arms she spoke of violently.
"Hush!" said Miss Cornelia indignantly. Lizzie always exaggerated, of course—yet now her own fingers felt prickly—uncanny. ”

“ Tell them I find it most inconvenient to be left without light that way."
"It's worse than inconvenient," muttered Lizzie, "it's criminal—that's what it is—turning off all the lights in a haunted house, like this one. As if spooks wasn't bad enough with the lights on——"
"Lizzie!"
"Yes, Miss Neily—I wasn't going to say another word." She went to the telephone. Miss Cornelia knitted on—"knit two—purl two—" In spite of her experiments with the ouija-board she didn't believe in ghosts—and yet—there were things one couldn't explain by logic. ”

“ She put down the knitting with an exasperated little gesture. Lizzie had just finished her telephoning and was hanging up the receiver.
"Well, Lizzie?"
"Yes'm," said the latter, glaring at the phone. "That's what he says—they turned off the lights last night because there was a storm threatening. He says it burns out their fuses if they leave 'em on in a storm."
A louder roll of thunder punctuated her words.
"There!" said Lizzie. "They'll be going off again to-night." She took an uncertain step toward the French windows.
"Humph!" said Miss Cornelia, "I hope it will be a dry summer." ”

“ Billy drew in his breath with a polite hiss. "Maybe she have twins," he admitted. "It happen sometime. Mostly not expected."
"Do you think there was any other reason for her leaving?"
"Maybe," said Billy blandly. ”