Part 1 - Chapter 3 - Page 2

of the old feudal days the Manor House was converted into an
island during the night--a fact which had a very direct bearing
upon the mystery which was soon to engage the attention of all
England.

The house had been untenanted for some years and was threatening
to moulder into a picturesque decay when the Douglases took
possession of it. This family consisted of only two
individuals--John Douglas and his wife. Douglas was a remarkable
man, both in character and in person. In age he may have been
about fifty, with a strong-jawed, rugged face, a grizzling
moustache, peculiarly keen gray eyes, and a wiry, vigorous figure
which had lost nothing of the strength and activity of youth. He
was cheery and genial to all, but somewhat offhand in his
manners, giving the impression that he had seen life in social
strata on some far lower horizon than the county society of
Sussex.

Yet, though looked at with some curiosity and reserve by his more
cultivated neighbours, he soon acquired a great popularity among
the villagers, subscribing handsomely to all local objects, and
attending their smoking concerts and other functions, where,
having a remarkably rich tenor voice, he was always ready to
oblige with an excellent song. He appeared to have plenty of
money, which was said to have been gained in the California gold
fields, and it was clear from his own talk and that of his wife
that he had spent a part of his life in America.

The good impression which had been produced by his generosity and
by his democratic manners was increased by a reputation gained
for utter indifference to danger. Though a wretched rider, he
turned out at every meet, and took the most amazing falls in his
determination to hold his own with the best. When the vicarage
caught fire he distinguished himself also by the fearlessness
with which he reentered the building to save property, after the
local fire brigade had given it up as impossible. Thus it came
about that John Douglas of the Manor House had within five years
won himself quite a reputation in Birlstone.

His wife, too, was popular with those who had made her
acquaintance; though, after the English fashion, the callers upon
a stranger who settled in the county without introductions were
few and far between. This mattered the less to her, as she was
retiring by disposition, and very much absorbed, to all
appearance, in her husband and her domestic duties. It was known
that she was an English lady who had met Mr. Douglas in London,
he being at that time a widower. She was a beautiful woman,
tall, dark, and slender, some twenty years younger than her
husband; a disparity which seemed in no wise to mar the
contentment of their family life.