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Show large. It was of Victorian architecture and the dark olouds hovering over it accented its foreboding look. The swirling fog was gathering around the base of the fence, creeping into the neglected garden and curling around the hedges and bushes,further enhancing its ghostly appearance. To Penny and Vicky, aged fourteen and fifteen, who had been raised amidst the misty rains and fogs of San Francisco, this was not unusual. Their eyes roamed over the old three storied mansion covered with vines that were sadly in need of being cut back and trimmed. Within the triangle of each gable was a sunburst of intricate designs bordering it and the windows beneath it were of stained glass. Years of accumulation of dirt and the harsh elements could not dim the beauty of the multi-colored panes. The tall narrow windows were decorated with ornate frames crowned by hoods shaped like miniature duplicates of the big attic gables. The slender columns that lined the veranda at intervals were decorated with carved wooden garlands of flowers at the cop and bottom where they met the balustrade, lining the entire front of the house. What excited Penny the most was the big cupola situated between the two large main gables in the front of the house. The bottom of the cone-shaped tower was decorated with the same flowers that graced the columns of the front porch. The windows were also of stained glass like those in the gables, but much smaller- What an adventure it would be to explore the tower, she thought. "Hurry girls, if we're to see all of the house before it'i completely dark , we must move along." Penny heard her mother say. "Now dear, don't rush us, we want to enjoy the first look at our new home," said Jim Standish, a tall man with very light hair and blue eyes. There was a steady and serene look about him that gave one the impression he could be trusted. His family had migrated from England in thy late l800's and settled in San Francisco, where he was born. He was orphaned at a young |