The journey to Mrs Piper's manor house is a slow and pleasant one, through rolling hills and past many a folly erected to please the eye of the traveler. The home is a modest but admirably situated one, located upon a rise which allows one a fine view of the large depression whimsically known as the Devil's Punchbowl.
Upon arrival the guests are greeted by Mister Crayle, a gentleman whose bespectacled countenance and severe manner of dress suggest a clerk and a Nonconformist. The few servants defer to him, as if he has taken over the duties of running the household.
"My Lord and ladies," he says by way of greeting, "thank you for responding to my letter in a timely manner. Mrs Piper is very weak. She wishes to speak to you privately. I will direct you to her bedchamber."
This done, he withdraws.
It can be seen at once that Mrs Piper, lying abed, is very thin and pale. Her eyes are watery, but she rewards her visitors with a smile.
"Good," she says. "You are here. Help me up. I have something to show you."
Although the guests may object to the wisdom of this, given her condition, she insists. With assistance, she is able to make her way to a corner of the room. By pressing on the walls in a certain way, a secret chamber is revealed. It is just barely large enough for a person of modest size, such as Mrs Piper, to enter. The interior is only dimly lit from without, but one can detect a peculiar object inside. It appears to be a metallic sculpture of a human head, resting on a pillar. No further details can be perceived without entering the tiny chamber.
"My source of wisdom, my destruction, and my legacy," Mrs Piper remarks, somewhat cryptically. She then falls unconscious, as if the effort of revealing this object was too taxing for her weakened condition.
Doctor North:
