The wind was rising far away and the nightwas black. I moved slowly along the outside wall towardsthe tower. Suddenly the sky was lit up bylightning，and then was black again.
I opened the tower door with the key. It wasdark inside but I felt the stone stairs under myfeet. They were firm and smooth，but narrow. I rememberedmy uncle’s words，and climbed slowlyby the wall. My heart was beating hard.
There were five floors to the house of Shaws. Icame near the top. It was lighter here，and therewas more air，Why was this？Suddenly there wasanother flash of lightning，and I knew the answer. Iwas filled with horror.
For a moment the lightning showed me openspaces in the wall. It showed me other things too.
Some steps were shorter than others. They were notcomplete. One of my feet was only two inches from
漆黑的夜晚，遠處的風刮得一陣比一陣緊。我慢慢地沿著外牆朝那座塔樓走去。驀地，一道閃電照亮了夜空。閃電過後，周圍又是一片漆黑。
我用那把鑰匙打開了塔樓門。
裏麵黑洞洞的，但是我用腳探出石砌的樓梯，雖然窄了些，可還結實，也砌得很平。我記著伯父的話，順牆慢慢往上爬。我的心撲通撲通直跳。
肖府的樓房共五層。我已快爬到樓頂，上麵稍微亮一些，也比較通風。這是什麼道理呢？突然，又是一道閃電。這時，我才明白了，嚇得魂不附體。
從一瞬即逝的閃光處，我看到牆上有幾處窟窿，還看到樓梯長短不一，殘缺不全。我的一隻腳離一窟窿的邊緣隻有二英寸。
the inside edge.
I did not cry out，because fear prevented me.
But I was angry，too. Why had my uncle sent me uphere？I must find out.
我嚇得中不出聲來，隻是心裏生氣。伯父為什麼讓我上這兒來呢？我得弄個水落石出。
I crept very slowly forward on my hands andknees. Bats flewabout，and beat on my face and body.
Their touch filled me with horror，but I crept on.
The tower was square. In every corner the stepwas a great stone of a different shape，to join thestraight stairs. I was moving round one of these corners，and put my hand out to feel the way. Itslipped on an edge. There was nothing beyond it -only empty space The steps ended here，in the air.
These were the good stairs！My uncle hadsent me here，into danger. He had sent me to fallfrom the fifth floor. He had sent me to die. Only thelightning had saved me.