The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1905-04-29

And wheeling about they bounded
precipitately down the stairs which
they had just assembled.
CHAPTER VII.
The Search for the Sorcerer.
Neil Bashfort, after separating from
his two companions at the foot of the
stairs, turned off into long, dark and
narrow corridor.
He was led to do this by his fancy
ing that he heard, at the moment, a
sound like very distant footstep, or
rather crealzing of a distant floor, as
! if some one were passing slyly over it.
He was a daring and reckless man,
with very little superstitious fear in
| his nature, and was eager to obtain the
! glory Of cornering and capturing the
| sorcerer with his own unaided hands.
He had known Zeno Sosia in former
years, but in this business at Dun Aen-
gus had not met the sorcerer except as
has been seen; for Lord Genlis had
simply commanded Bashfort to take
| certain articles and Martha to the ru-
ined dwelling, and to prepare one Of
it's habitable rooms for the reception Of
| a lady prisoner, who should arrive
there on or about the third of April.
! He was smuggler by occupation,
| and usually piled his illegal trade on
the southwest coast of England, shar-
ing with his exiled lord all his gains
being personally and remarkably at
tached to the nobleman.
Having received Lord Genlis' COM
mands as to what he was to do at Dun
Aengus, Bashfort had sailed to CAL
way, taking his wife with him to be
companion and servant to the expect
ed lady prisoner-of whose name,
even, he was as ignorant as he was
careless-and after transporting from
! Galway to Dun Aengus such articles
as his lord had ordered, he had dis
patched his craft and crew back to the
south of England and remained at the
ruins with his wife.
His attachment for Lord Genlis
amounted, indeed, to passion, and
they had been much together from
f. their childhood up.
Regarding Sosia now as dangerous
enemy to Lord Genlis, and hoping to
capture and to drag the lurking fugi-
tive, helpless, into the presence of his
lord, Bashfort saw, with secret delight
that he alone had heard that distant
creaking of some loose board, and so
hurried of into the long, dark and mar.
row corridor which traversed a part
of the second floor of the rambling old
building.
II hear him." he thought, as he sped
on rapidly and swiftly for time, and
then more slowly as he increased his
distance from the stairs. Il hear him
or heard him-though I could not
exactly locate the sound. It was
somewhere in this direction, and I
shall corner this sly rat of wizard
Alone 1 will throttle the rascaror cut
him down if he attempts to resist" he
| added in his mind, drawing his hanger,
which was much like Scottish broad
| sword.
There were several rooms which
opened into the corridor, and the doors
of these rooms in general were miss.
! ing, having been torn from their
hinges and carried away during the
long lapse of years since the building
had been inhabited; into each of these
rooms Bashfort peered sharply ere he
moved farther Outgoing into such as
had closets and examining them care
fully.
knew him." he muttered, and thinking
of the sorcerer. "And it's some TWEEN
ty-two years ago since I saw him till
to-day. He was not so old nor so ugly
then, but even then looking ten years
older than he said he was know well
what he did with the infant he bribed
and forced me to steal for him. Ho!
that was black deed of mine. of
which I have never even limited to
Lord Genl1s; No, will think no more
of that deed; and yet saw the face in
my dream on the cliff to-day-the face
of the young gentleman killed in the
Boar inn at York, twenty-five years
ago. Shall l always be haunted by
that face-the face of the first man l
ever murdered? Bah! Why do think
of it now? Away with it! So here is
another closet in this room!"
The room in which Bashfort was
pursuing his search contained three
closets.
Unto two of these closets he had
looked and found nothing; and he now
approached the third, which, unlike
the others, still possessed door.
The door had no lock, but a knob;
and as Bashfort placed his naked
sword under his left arm, his left hand
holding his torch, and grasped this
knob with his right hand, a firm re-