Edmund, who is standing in front of the Hotel American House, sees Catherine come out with a man he recognizes as Mr. Rachett, his stepfather. The two go into Mrs. Whitman's house, and Edmund wonders whether he should tell Dupin. Deciding against this course of action, Edmund goes instead to the docks to inquire about The Lady Liberty, as he has been instructed to do by Dupin. Unbeknownst to him, he is being followed.
Meanwhile, Dupin is waiting at the mausoleum, where he thinks he sees a ghost of a woman asking for her children. He is surprised by Throck, the night watchman. Dupin enters the mausoleum, and sees a straw mattress on the floor. Throck, who has followed Dupin into the mausoleum, demands to know what Dupin is doing there. Accusations fly back and forth between the two men, and Dupin finally tells Throck that he is there to meet someone. Mrs. Whitman arrives and Dupin at first thinks she is a ghost. The woman verifies to Throck that she is indeed there to meet Dupin, and the watchman sullenly leaves.
Mrs. Whitman asks Dupin if he is all right, because he is agitated and looks "as if (he) had seen a ghost." Dupin reaches out to Mrs. Whitman, telling her he is in "dreadful pain." Fearful of scandal, Mrs. Whitman tells Dupin, whom she calls by his real name, Poe, that it is not wise for them to remain in the deserted mausoleum, and insists that he accompany her into the house, where guests are gathered. Poe tells Mrs. Whitman that he sent her a letter, but she replies that she never received it, and that it was most likely intercepted by her mother. With Mrs. Whitman leading the way, the two walk up towards the house, where Mrs. Whitman warns Poe to be careful, because they "will be surrounded by enemies" (Chapter 12).
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