d
he; "yet come on, Gaston, I can find an entrance, unless old Ralph be
more on the alert than I expect."

Creeping along between the walls and the moat, till they had reached
the opposite side of the Keep, Eustace stopped at a low doorway; a
slight click was heard, as of a latch yielding to his hand, the door
opened, and he led the way up a stone staircase in the thickness of the
wall, warning his follower now and then of a broken step. After a long
steep ascent, Gaston heard another door open, and though still in total
darkness, perceived that they had gained a wider space. "The passage
from the hall to the chapel," whispered the Knight, and feeling by the
wall, they crept along, until a buzz of voices reached their ears, and
light gleamed beneath a heavy dark curtain which closed the passage.
Pausing for an instant, they heard a voice tremulous with fear and
eagerness: "It was himself! tall plume, bright armour! the very
crosslet on his breast could be seen in the moonlight! Oh! it was Sir
Reginald himself, and the wild young French Squire that fell with him
in Spain!"

There was a suppressed exclamation of horror, and a sound of crowding
together, and at that moment, Eustace, drawing aside the curtain,
advanced into the light, and was greeted by a frightful shriek, which
made him at first repent of having alarmed his sister, but the next
glance showed him that her place was empty, and a thrill of dismay made
him stand speechless and motionless, as he perceived that the curtain
he grasped was black, and the hall completely hung with the same colour.

The servants remained huddled in terror round the hearth, and the pause
was first broken by a fair-faced boy, who, breaking from the trembling
circle, came forward, and in a quivering tone said, "Sir, are you my
father's spirit?"

Gaston's laugh came strangely on the scene, but Eustace, bending down,
and holding out his hand, said, "I am your uncle Eustace, Arthur.
Where is your mother?"

Arthur, with a wild cry of joy, sprung to his neck, and hid his face on
his shoulder; and at the same moment old Ralph, with uplifted hands,
cried, "Blessing on the Saints that my young Lord is safe, and that
mine eyes have seen you once again."

"But where, oh! where is my sister?" again demanded Eustace, as his eye
met that of Father Cyril, who, summoned by the screams of the servants,
had just entered the hall.

"My son," replied the good Father, solemnly, "your sister is