ed the Conde de Gondomar, who had caught Gillian in
his arms, as the jealous apprentice cast her from him. "I am afraid her
ladyship cannot see very clearly."

"I see clearly enough that a trick has been practised upon me," Lady
Lake rejoined sharply. "But let Lord Roos look to himself. I will have
my revenge, and a terrible one it shall be."

"Do not commit yourself," said Sir Thomas in a low tone.

"Your business here is at an end, fair maiden," said the Conde de
Gondomar to Gillian; "and as your lover abandons you, I am ready to take
charge of you."

So saying he led her forth, followed by Lord Roos, whose smile of
triumph exasperated his mother-in-law almost beyond endurance.

For a moment Dick Tayerner remained irresolute; but his mistress had no
sooner disappeared, than he rushed after her, vowing he would have her
back if it cost him his life.

CHAPTER XXVII.

The Puritan's Prison.

Hugh Calveley, it has already been intimated, was lodged in a vault
beneath the gateway. The place was commonly used as a sort of black-hole
for the imprisonment of any refractory member of the royal household, or
soldier on guard guilty of neglect of duty. Circular in shape, it
contained a large pillar, to which iron rings and chains were attached.
The walls were of stone, the roof arched with ribs springing from the
pillar that supported it, and the floor was paved. Window there was
none; but air was admitted through a small grated aperture in the roof;
and thus imperfectly ventilated, it will not be wondered at that the
vault should be damp. Moisture constantly trickled down the walls, and
collected in pools on the broken pavement; but unwholesome as it was,
and altogether unfit for occupation, it was deemed good enough for those
generally thrust into it, and far too good for its present tenant.

As the prisoner exhibited no violence, the thongs with which his hands
were bound were removed on his entrance to the vault, and he was allowed
the free use of his limbs. The breast-plate in which he was clad was
taken from him, and his vesture was again closely searched, but no
further discovery was made either of concealed weapon, or of any paper
or letter tending to show that he had accomplices in his dread design.
The only thing found upon him, indeed, was a small Bible, and this,
after it had been examined, he was permitted to retain. To the
interrogatories put to him by Master Dendy, the serjeant-at-arms, he
return