with whom the earl had fallen in love, became the victim of
her sister's jealousy. Cuthbert, though not confined in a cell, was kept
prisoner in the Tower, and occupied quarters in the pantler's house.
Cicely had disappeared, and nothing had been heard of her since the
arrest of Lady Jane Grey at Sion House.

Consumed with anxiety for the safety of the girl he loved, the esquire
began to suspect that she had been kidnapped by Nightgall. He determined
to find her at all cost, and getting Xit to steal the gaoler's keys, he
once more made his way to the subterranean dungeons.

Cell after cell he searched, but nowhere could he find a trace of his
beloved Cicely. All that he discovered was the dead body of Alexia. He
made haste to return to his quarters, and had almost reached them when
Nightgall appeared, and at once placed him under arrest for stealing his
keys.

His enemy was now at his mercy, and Nightgall, after burying the body of
Alexia, sought out Cicely, whom be had kept for several weeks a close
prisoner in the Salt Tower. He told her that he was about to remove her
to another prison in the Tower leading to the Iron Gate.

"I will never go thither of my own accord," replied Cicely, shrinking
terrified from him. "Release me, villain; I will die sooner than become
your bride."

"We shall see that," growled the gaoler, seizing hold of her. "You shall
never be set free unless you consent to be mine."

He carried her, shrieking and struggling in his arms, out of the room,
and dragged her by main force down the secret staircase. She continued
her screams, until her head, striking against the stones, she was
stunned by the blow and became insensible. Nightgall raised her, and
carried her quickly to the dark cell he had already prepared. Here she
would have languished for months without seeing anybody save Nightgall,
except for a curious chain of circumstances.

Renard's plan of marrying Mary to Philip of Spain, to which end he had
had Courtenay and the Princess Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower, was
bitterly opposed by De Noailles. The French ambassador determined to
prevent the Spaniard's plans, and, by means of Xit, sent a communication
to the princess just as she was leaving her prison for Ashbridge.
Further, the little mannikin managed to creep, by way of the chimney,
into the chamber where Courtenay was confined, and arrange a plan by
which the Earl was able to escape. His share in these events, however,
was