assy, with a keen, sneering glitter in her eyes,
stood looking at him, counting the strokes.

"Twelve o'clock; well _now_ we'll see," said she, turning, and opening
the door into the passage-way, and standing as if listening.

"Hark! What's that?" said she, raising her finger.

"It's only the wind," said Legree. "Don't you hear how cursedly it
blows?"

"Simon, come here," said Cassy, in a whisper, laying her hand on his,
and leading him to the foot of the stairs: "do you know what _that_ is?
Hark!"

A wild shriek came pealing down the stairway. It came from the garret.
Legree's knees knocked together; his face grew white with fear.

"Hadn't you better get your pistols?" said Cassy, with a sneer that
froze Legree's blood. "It's time this thing was looked into, you know.
I'd like to have you go up now; _they're at it_."

"I won't go!" said Legree, with an oath.

"Why not? There an't any such thing as ghosts, you know! Come!" and
Cassy flitted up the winding stairway, laughing, and looking back after
him. "Come on."

"I believe you _are_ the devil!" said Legree. "Come back you hag,--come
back, Cass! You shan't go!"

But Cassy laughed wildly, and fled on. He heard her open the entry doors
that led to the garret. A wild gust of wind swept down, extinguishing
the candle he held in his hand, and with it the fearful, unearthly
screams; they seemed to be shrieked in his very ear.

Legree fled frantically into the parlor, whither, in a few moments, he
was followed by Cassy, pale, calm, cold as an avenging spirit, and with
that same fearful light in her eye.

"I hope you are satisfied," said she.

"Blast you, Cass!" said Legree.

"What for?" said Cassy. "I only went up and shut the doors. _What's the
matter with that garret_, Simon, do you suppose?" said she.

"None of your business!" said Legree.

"O, it an't? Well," said Cassy, "at any rate, I'm glad _I_ don't sleep
under it."

Anticipating the rising of the wind, that very evening, Cassy had been
up and opened the garret window. Of course, the moment the doors were
opened, the wind had drafted down, and extinguished the light.

This may serve as a specimen of the game that Cassy played with Legree,
until he would sooner have put his head into a lion's mouth than to have
explored that garret. Meanwhile, in the night, when everybody else
was asleep, Cassy slowly and carefully accumulated there a stock
of provisions sufficient to afford subsistence for some