Obeying a sudden impulse , my lady sprang forward and tried to open the door . It was locked , but as her hand turned the silver knob a sound as if a drawer softly closed met her ear . She stooped to the keyhole but it was dark , a key evidently being in the lock . She drew back and flew to her room , snatched the key from her dressing table , and , bidding Hester follow , returned to the hall . `` What is it , my lady ? '' cried the woman , alarmed at the agitation of her mistress . `` A light , a sound , a shadow in the state chamber . Come quick ! '' cried Lady Trevlyn , adding , as she pointed to the door , `` There , there , the light shines underneath . Do you see it ? '' `` No , my lady , it 's dark , '' returned Hester . It was , but never pausing my lady thrust in the key , and to her surprise it turned , the door flew open , and the dim , still room was before them . Hester boldly entered , and while her mistress slowly followed , she searched the room , looking behind the tall screen by the hearth , up the wide chimney , in the great wardrobe , and under the ebony cabinet , where all the relics of Sir Richard were kept . Nothing appeared , not even a mouse , and Hester turned to my lady with an air of relief . But her mistress pointed to the bed shrouded in dark velvet hangings , and whispered breathlessly , `` You forgot to look there . '' Hester had not forgotten , but in spite of her courage and good sense she shrank a little from looking at the spot where she had last seen her master 's dead face . She believed the light and sound to be phantoms of my lady 's distempered fancy , and searched merely to satisfy her . The mystery of Sir Richard 's death still haunted the minds of all who remembered it , and even Hester felt a superstitious dread of that room . With a nervous laugh she looked under the bed and , drawing back the heavy curtains , said soothingly , `` You see , my lady , there 's nothing there . '' But the words died on her lips , for , as the pale glimmer of the candle pierced the gloom of that funeral couch , both saw a face upon the pillow : a pale face framed in dark hair and beard , with closed eyes and the stony look the dead wear .
A loud , long shriek that roused the house broke from Lady Trevlyn as she fell senseless at the bedside , and dropping both curtain and XXXXX Hester caught up her mistress and fled from the haunted room , locking the door behind her .
candle hand keyhole laugh light look nothing sound woman words