Secret of Canfield House — Florence Hurd

An old love affair haunted the New England mansion. Would the new one end so tragically?

How could Mike Canfield be a kind human one moment and a hateful devil the next? Who was the mysterious prowler that watched the house? Secret of Canfield House is loaded with atmosphere and strange happenings. Emeline Ferris is a thoroughly engaging character who turns out to be far stronger and more resourceful than she had ever imagined.

There are some secrets it doesn't pay to stumble on...

There was something wrong, very wrong, at Canfield House. At first Emeline tried to tell herself that the mysterious happenings--faces in the window, footprints that led nowhere--existed only in her imagination.

Then the dog was poisoned. Now Emeline was certain that something deliberate and very evil was taking place. It had something to do with the room upstairs--the room that was suddenly locked. Just thinking about it sent shivers up her spine.

But it was not until the night of the fire that the hideous secret was finally torn from its hiding place...

I WENT UP TO BED PONDERING over a Miles who could be a kind human one moment and a hateful devil the next.

Long after I was in bed, I tossed and turned in the darkness, unable to sleep. One moment I felt hot, and the blankets were heavy; the next, I shivered and felt cold. Finally I got out of bed to close the window. Just as I had my hands on the sills something outside on the edge of the woods caught my eye. I stared into the dark patch of trees that loomed against a darker sky. There it was again! A tiny brief glow, like some immense firefly. It came and went several time, never moving, always at the same spot.

Was someone trying to start a fire? The woods were tinder. The tiny glow came again. I waited breathlessly. The glow did not reappear. There was no burst of flames, no sign of fire. What was it, then?

Suddenly it came to me. Someone, sitting or standing on the edge of the woods, had lit a cigarette or a pipe. It couldn't have been Damon, for Damon did not smoke. My "imaginary" prowler had returned. And he was watching the house!