row and irregular. At a spot where was
scarce room for two to pass, a page ran against me. He started back in
terror, but having scanned me, gathered impudence, puffed himself out,
and asked my business.

"To see the princess," I answered.

"A likely thing!" he returned. "I have not seen her highness this
morning myself!"

I caught him by the back of the neck, shook him, and said, "Take me to
her at once, or I will drag you with me till I find her. She shall know
how her servants receive her visitors."

He gave a look at me, and began to pull like a blind man's dog, leading
me thus to a large kitchen, where were many servants, feebly busy, and
hardly awake. I expected them to fall upon me and drive me out, but they
stared instead, with wide eyes--not at me, but at something behind me,
and grew more ghastly as they stared. I turned my head, and saw the
white leopardess, regarding them in a way that might have feared stouter
hearts.

Presently, however, one of them, seeing, I suppose, that attack was not
imminent, began to recover himself; I turned to him, and let the boy go.

"Take me to the princess," I said.

"She has not yet left her room, your lordship," he replied.

"Let her know that I am here, waiting audience of her."

"Will your lordship please to give me your name?"

"Tell her that one who knows the white leech desires to see her."

"She will kill me if I take such a message: I must not. I dare not."

"You refuse?"

He cast a glance at my attendant, and went.

The others continued staring--too much afraid of her to take their eyes
off her. I turned to the graceful creature, where she stood, her muzzle
dropped to my heel, white as milk, a warm splendour in the gloomy place,
and stooped and patted her. She looked up at me; the mere movement of
her head was enough to scatter them in all directions. She rose on her
hind legs, and put her paws on my shoulders; I threw my arms round her.
She pricked her ears, broke from me, and was out of sight in a moment.

The man I had sent to the princess entered.

"Please to come this way, my lord," he said.

My heart gave a throb, as if bracing itself to the encounter. I followed
him through many passages, and was at last shown into a room so large
and so dark that its walls were invisible. A single spot on the floor
reflected a little light, but around that spot all was black. I looked
up, and saw at a great height an oval aperture in the roof, on the
peri