hin half a mile of the town he heard a pistol
shot, in the direction of a large house, a quarter of a mile from
the road.

Without hesitation he turned his horse's head in that direction. In
a couple of minutes he arrived at a pair of large gates. They were
closed, but he dismounted, fastened the bridle chain to them and,
snatching the pistols from his holsters, ran along by the side of a
high wall, until he came to a tree growing close to it.

With some difficulty, for his high boots were ill adapted to such
work, he climbed the tree, got on to the wall, and dropped down. He
was in large park-like grounds. Guided by a light in a window, he
ran to the house. The door was closed. After hesitating for a
moment he ran along and, soon coming, as he expected, to an open
window, he at once climbed through it. A door was open and, passing
on, he entered a large hall in which a light was burning.

Pausing to listen now, he heard voices upstairs and, holding a
pistol in each hand and his drawn sword in his teeth, he lightly
ascended the stairs. On the landing two men lay dead. Light was
issuing from a half-closed door and, noiselessly approaching it, he
looked in.

It was a small room. At the end stood eight or ten scared women,
huddled together; while a soldier, with a pistol in one hand and a
sword in the other, stood sentry over them. These were evidently
the servants of the chateau, who had been unceremoniously hauled
from their beds and gathered there, under a guard, to prevent them
from screaming or giving any alarm. As Fergus was equally anxious
that no alarm should be given, at present, he retired quietly.

A pair of double doors faced the top of the staircase. This was
evidently the grand reception room and, listening intently, he
could hear a murmur of voices inside. Turning the handle and
throwing them suddenly open, he entered.

Upon the floor lay the body of a gentleman. A lady, pale as death
and in a half-fainting condition, leant back in a settee; while a
girl of thirteen or fourteen lay on a couch, with bound hands and a
handkerchief fastened across her mouth.

Three soldiers were engaged in examining the contents of a large
coffer of jewels. As the door opened they turned round and, on
seeing a solitary officer, sprang forward with terrible oaths.
Fergus shot one of them as they did so, dropped the pistol, and
seized his sword. Both men fired. Fergus felt a stinging sensation
in his left arm, and the p