Evening star., 1898-11-05

the salle-de-garde into the turret stair,
wilicn was the sole communication with the
upper floors of the castle
sio"ly and with step no louder than
eiie pedtins OF ms heart. he went upward
giancing in upon the banquet hall where
on the great table the dim light from the
postern without revealed a number of dark
Iorms wrapped in slumber lying on the din
ing tapie and on the floor. Ascending vet
hlgher, he came to the floor whereon slept
hle countess of Douglas the Lady Sybilla.
ana in the earrs own chamber the Marshal
oe hetz, ambassador of the King of France.
cifoito stood moment with his hand
raised in listening attitude, before he ven
tured to ascend the stairs which led to the
upper floor on which were the chambers
occupied by the little maid Margaret and
Lindsay ' 0N
He told himself that it was his duty to
see to the safety Of the whole castle, that
ne mad special instructions to visit three
Tunes curing the course of each night of
DUTY all the passages and corridors of the
castle But, nevertheless it needed all his
courage to enable Sholto to perform the
task which had been laid upon him AS he
t,asa, ~ one 1901 a1ter the other up the
turret stairs 1t seemed as if a Ieaden clog
had been attached to each pointed shoe.
ne idu also vague sense of being
watched by presences invisible to him. but
iaiisl t IN lhelr nature. Again and again
ne caught himself listening for fontsfens
Whlch seemed to dog his own. He seemed
10 near mysterious whisperines that foutad
ms M utmost vigilance and mocking laughter
a NC iui heu III unseen creviceS and broke
OUT SO soon as he had passed
Sholto set his hand firmly upon his su,ord
,idhdle ana bit his lips, lest even to himself
ne should own his uneasiness 1t was NOT
seeniy mat the captain of the Douglas
guard snould be frightened by shadows
Passing the corridor which led toward tha
Sleeping rooms of the maid and her com
pahioll pa ne ascended to the roof of the cas-
eiG lii ustliig aside the turret door and is
SUING upon the wide open space with an
assured step. The cool breeze from +ha
west west restored him to himself in moment
me me waning moon cast a pale light across
eLe landscape. and he could see the tents
on the Castle Island glimmer grayish uhite
beneath him, beyond that again the shin;ne
commence or the sluggish river about tbe
Isle, and the dark line of the woods Of pai
tiiasn,e MAJ opposite; He had begun to medi-
tate on the rapid changes of circumstancas
"hich mad overtaken him. when suddanIy
d shrlll and piercing Shrek rang ont rnn,,
ing up through the castle beneath agair
d anu III i asstlh repeated 1t was like the cry of
terror eaiiu oeadly
snoLto heart gave a great bound That
81 Sinethlng untoward should happen on
disa DIS t,ae lirsI night of his charge was too
disastrous He drew his sword and cat ~
ms ups the silver call which depended fro,,l ~,
tne chain of office the earl had tbrawn
ABOUT s, ms neck when he made him cantain
His feet hardly touched the STONE s+.,rs
as ne new downward, and wings were ID
eu 20 ms haste by the sound of fear which
continued to increase. In another mn-
aleht me, ne ne was at the entrance of the corri
4oi ",iicn led to the rooms of the little
Lady Margaret and Maud Lindesay,
AS Sholto came rushing down the staen
descent from the roof he caught sight Of
dafk animal running or all fours like
d cog )ust turning out of the corridor and
taxing the first step of the descent topyard
me moor beneath. Without pausinp to
consider. Sholto lunged forward WITH ali
M. ms might, and his sword struck the fusi-
i've 1lgure behind the shoulder. He had
time to see in the pale blush flicker ~ tdo
esulsie s Isle lamp that the beast he had wound
ea sooras was ol oark color, and that its head
seemed Immensely too large for IT'S hodv
Nevertheless the thing did not fall hut
ran ran on ana vanished out of Sholto's sight
me young man again set the silver caii
10 ms lips and blew. The next moment be
could near the soldiers of the guard clato
tering upward, and he himself ran aIons
the corridor toward the place from whanne hs
the screams of terror seemed to procead