The sight that had so suddenly shocked Major Dale and his helpers was indeed .  
Within the secret room they had found a man, not a ghost nor a , but a sick, almost helpless old man—the once popular Captain Mayberry.
 
At a glance it was plain he was in hiding in the wretched place, and the surroundings showed he had food and some of life's necessities within reach, although the very rats, whose presence were painfully evident, must have enjoyed a keener advantage in the , once proud of the name "Mayberry."
 
Frightened almost into convulsions, the old man fell back into a corner, his eyes glaring with the unmistakable gleam of , and his teeth terribly.
 
A stove, barely alive with heat, served to shelter him from the intruders, for he managed to get behind the old piece of iron, and there and .
 
"Come, come!" said Major Dale as quickly as he could command his voice. "Don't you know me? Look! I'm Dale—of the Guards—come to save you, Cap. We have no wish to frighten you!"
 
"Save me!" the old man. "Go away! I'm crazy—crazy!"
 
"Not a bit of it," answered the major, stepping nearer to the stove. "Come along. We are snowbound, and had to come in uninvited."
 
Assured that the specter was a man and nothing more nor less, Tom had hurried back to the girls. Nat turned his attention to old Abe, and, between scolding and explaining, finally succeeded in quieting the colored man's fears. But the major kept close to the lunatic—for such he took Captain Mayberry to be.
 
"And don't you remember me?" he kept asking, satisfied that a gleam of recognition did pass over the wrinkled face that now peered out into the glare of the lamp from the Fire Bird. "Come! We are hungry, and you are too, I'll . Let's have mess. are plenty to-night."
 
Crawling like some animal, the old man was finally persuaded to come out from behind the stove.
 
Major Dale laid his hand on the arm of Captain Mayberry.
"Just out here," directed the major, leading the trembling one. "You see, we have taken possession of your house. Tell me how you feel? How you are?"
 
Major Dale wanted him to talk, both to quiet the girls' fears and to determine his actual state of mind. But Captain Mayberry's speech was very slow, and decidedly confused.
 
"I—guess—I'm all right—now," he managed to utter. "Where's—Jane?"
 
"Jane? Oh, yes, Jane," repeated the major. "That's your sister, Miss Pumfret?"
 
"Was—not now. She locks me up—leaves me to die!"
 
"Oh, now, come. Isn't it Jane who brings you things to eat?" asked the major, venturing a guess. "Why, didn't she send—the coal—and the bread?"
 
"Yes, yes," answered the old man, "but she will not let me go. She drove me crazy. Yes, and I'm crazy now."
 
"Not a bit of it. Here, sit down on this seat," and Major Dale motioned to Tom. "This young man will stay by you to keep you company while we prepare the mess. Perhaps you will show us how to get water? And have you any way of up?"
 
A look of intelligence crossed Captain Mayberry's face............