The Lost House

The Lost House

The Second Secretary revealed a state secret to his young acquaintance, Austin Ford, the New York Republic’s London reporter. The setting for this clandestine exchange was Sowell Street, a place characterized by broken, uncleaned steps and the soot-stained, cracked, and neglected stucco fronts of its houses, giving the area a grim appearance.

A young woman, who claimed to reside on the west side of the street and on an upper floor, posted a message on the door of a Sowell Street residence. The man who retrieved this message stated he found it in the middle of the block, directly across from the houses.

Cuthbert witnessed Ford enter Dr. Prothero’s home, observe him move to the side, and then depart, with the door closing behind him. As Ford tiptoed around the perimeter of his confinement, searching for any sign of intrusion, Miss Dale intently watched the windows.

Meanwhile, three sharpshooters were firing directly at the windows from which Prothero and Pearsall were engaged in a desperate battle. Their actions were as reckless as if they were confronting targets at a rifle range, appearing as if they were standing on a racetrack at night before a vast grandstand filled with an army of specters.