The story, Landlady, starts with Billy Weaver, trying to find a cheap hotel. The porter suggested The Bell and Dragon. Billy Weaver was 17 years old, wearing a navy-blue overcoat, a brown trilby hat, and a brown suit. He sees a printed notice that advertised a hotel. He sees it and then goes to check it out. He pressed the bell, and at once, a woman was standing there. She lets Billy inside her house. The woman was about forty-five to fifty years old. Billy asks for a room, and she lets him pay for a room. She charged five and sixpence a night, including breakfast. That was amazingly cheap. She acts all kindly and helps him with everything. She shows Billy to his room, shows him what he could do, and offers him supper. And she tells him to sign a book that was in the sitting room, and she tells him that it is the law to sign the book. Billy thinks that she is a bit off her rocker, but she didn’t worry Billy at all. Then, after a few minutes of him unpacking, he went downstairs into the living room. The landlady wasn’t there, but the book was, so he wrote down his address and name. He reads the other two people who have signed the book, which was unusual. He recognizes the names of the two people who have signed the book. The landlady came up behind him and started talking with him, and carrying a tea tray. Then, Billy notices that the last person who has ever come here to stay, was from two years ago. And then the landlady offers him some tea and a ginger biscuit. Then he started to drink his tea. He notices the landlady’s pets. They were dead, but the landlady took out the insides of them and stuffed them, to make it look like that they were still alive. They noticed that the tea tasted of bitter almonds. Then, Billy asks the landlady that were there any guests here in the last two or three years. She replies with, “No, my dear, only you.”
