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The Man on the Stairs

其他書名	A Mystery-comedy in Three Acts
出版	Row, Peterson, 1948
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=ikt5ieNoOm4C&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋Mary Jane Bremmer, a college girl, thinks she has inherited an old estate from a foster uncle, and she expects to live in the house with her aged great-aunt, Molly Bremmer, at least temporarily. Jed Stuart, a college man in whom Mary Jane has more than a passing interest, comes out to the lonely home in the foothills to help Mary Jane to get the place "organized." A number of strange happenings, however, disturb the expected peace and quiet. For one thing, Aunt Molly, whose sense of hearing is phenomenal, speaks of hearing footsteps in various sections of the upstairs. Then there is the man, who, she maintains, appears on the stair landing, buttoms himself into an overcoat, and vanishes as abruptly as he came. More than that, she chatters on about various strangers that she has let in out of the storm, provided with dry clothing, and given lodging. She is pretty hazy about the whole thing, and isn't certain how many, nor who, the men in question are. Naturally, Mary Jane and Jed don't know whether this is just a product of the old aunt's imagination or the real thing. Mike Moran, an old desert rat, and near neighbor, doesn't throw any light on the subject; on the contrary, his apparent belief in "sperits" prompts him to say that anything can happen in the old house. His advice to the newcomers is to vacate at once ... And then come an unctuous lawyer and three persons who lay claim to the estate. A mysterious magician likewise makes an appearance--he's one of the men on the stairs--and the plot thickens perceptibly. No one seems to know how many men are hiding in the old mansion, nor how many different ones have come down to the landing of the stairs, only to fade away, apparently, into thin air ... But just who is The Man on the stairs?