The Hillman Author:Edward Phillips Oppenheim Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: II Louise, with a heavy, silver-plated candlestick in her hand, stood upon the uneven floor of the bedroom to which she had been conducted, looking up at the ... more »oak- framed family tree which hung above the broad chimney-piece. She examined the coat of arms emblazoned in the corner, and peered curiously at the last neatly printed addition, which indicated Stephen and John Strangewey as the sole survivors of a diminishing line. When at last she turned away, she found the name upon her lips. " Strangewey ! " she murmured. " John Strangewey ! The name seems to bring something into my memory. Have I ever known any one with such a name, Aline ? " The maid shook her head. " Never, madame, to the best of my belief," she declared. " Yet I, too, seem to have heard it, and lately. It is perplexing. One has seen it somewhere. One finds it familiar." Louise shrugged her shoulders. She stood for a moment looking around her before she laid down the candlestick. The room was of unusual size, with two worm-eaten beams across the ceiling; the windows were casemented, with broad seats in each recess. The dressing table, upon which her belongings were set out, was of solid, black oak, as was also the framework of the hugesofa, the mirror, and the chairs. The ancient four- poster, hung with chintz and supported by carved pillars, was spread with fine linen and covered with a quilt made of small pieces of silk, lavender-perfumed. The great wardrobe, with its solid mahogany doors, seemed ancient enough to have stood in its place since the building of the house itself. A log of sweet-smelling wood burned cheerfully in the open fireplace. " Really," Louise decided, " we have been most fortunate. This is an adventure! Aline, give me some black silk stockings and some black slippers. I wil...« less