"i glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my ignorance of german i could see that two of them were treatises on science, the others being volumes of poetry. then i walked across to the window, hoping that i might catch some glimpse of the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded across it. it was a wonderfully silent house. there was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise everything was deadly still. a vague feeling of uneasiness began to steal over me. who were these german people, and what were they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? and where was the place? i was ten miles or so from eyford, that was all i knew, but whether north, south, east, or west i had no idea. for that matter, reading, and possibly other large towns, were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded, after all. yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness, that we were in the country. i paced up and down the room, humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling that i was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee.