”Iamgoingtoforcemywayinandseeformyselfwhoisinthehouse。Iwishyoubothtobethereaswitnesses。””Youarequitedeterminedtodothis，inspiteofyourwife’swarningthatitisbetterthatyoushouldnotsolvethemystery?””Yes，Iamdetermined。””Well，Ithinkthatyouareintheright。Anytruthisbetterthanindefinitedoubt。Wehadbettergoupatonce。Ofcourse，legally，weareputtingourselveshopelesslyinthewrong；butIthinkthatitisworthit。”Itwasaverydarknight，andathinrainbegantofallasweturnedfromthehighroadintoanarrowlane，deeplyrutted，withhedgesoneitherside。Mr。
GrantMunropushedimpatientlyforward，however，andwestumbledafterhimasbestwecould。”Therearethelightsofmyhouse，”hemurmured，pointingtoaglimmeramongthetrees。”AndhereisthecottagewhichIamgoingtoenter。”
Weturnedacornerinthelaneashespoke，andtherewasthebuildingclosebesideus。Ayellowbarfallingacrosstheblackforegroundshowedthatthedoorwasnotquiteclosed，andonewindowintheupperstorywasbrightlyilluminated。Aswelooked，wesawadarkblurmovingacrosstheblind。”Thereisthatcreature！”criedGrantMunro。”Youcanseeforyourselvesthatsomeoneisthere。Nowfollowme，andweshallsoonknowall。”
Weapproachedthedoor；butsuddenlyawomanappearedoutoftheshadowandstoodinthegoldentrackofthelamp-light。Icouldnotseeherfaceinthehedarkness，butherarmswerethrownoutinanattitudeofentreaty。”ForGod’ssake，don’tJack！”shecried。”Ihadapresentimentthatyouwouldcomethisevening。Thinkbetterofit，dear！Trustmeagain，andyouwillneverhavecausetoregretit。””Ihavetrustedyoutoollong，Effie，”hecried，sternly。”Leavegoofme！Imustpassyou。MyfriendsandIaregoingtosettlethismatteronceandforever！”Hepushedhertooneside，andwefollowedcloselyafterhim。Ashethrewthedooropenanoldwomanranoutinfrontofhimandtriedtobarhispassage，buthethrustherback，andaninstantafterwardswewerealluponthestairs。GrantMunrorushedintothelightedroomatthetop，andweenteredathisheels。
Itwasacosey，well-furnishedapartment，withtwocandlesburninguponthetableandtwouponthemantelpiece。Inthecorner，stoopingoveradesk，theresatwhatappearedtobealittlegirl。Herfacewasturnedawayasweentered，butwecouldseethatshewasdressedinaredfrock，andthatshehadlongwhitegloveson。Asshewhiskedroundtous，Igaveacryofsurpriseandhorror。Thefacewhichsheturnedtowardsuswasofthestrangestlividtint，andthefeatureswereabsolutelydevoidofanyexpression。Aninstantlaterthemysterywasexplained。Holmes，withalaugh，passedhishandbehindthechild’sear，amaskpeeledofffromhercountenance，antherewasalittlecoalblacknegress，withallherwhiteteethflashinginamusementatouramazedfaces。Iburstoutlaughing，outofsympathywithhermerriment；butGrantMunrostoodstaring，withhishandclutchinghisthroat。”MyGod！”hecried。”Whatcanbethemeaningofthis?””Iwilltellyouthemeaningofit，”criedthelady，sweepingintotheroomwithaproud，setface。”Youhaveforcedme，againstmyownjudgment，totellyou，andnowwemustbothmakethebestofit。MyhusbanddiedatAtlanta。Mychildsurvived。””Yourchild?”