ing over them; and the last surviving
chimney gave less smoke than a workman's homeward whiff of his pipe to
comfort and relieve the air.

The only door that we could see was of heavy black oak, without any
knocker; but I clinched my hand, having thick gloves on, and made what
I thought a very creditable knock, while the Major stood by, with his
blue-lights up, and keenly gazed and gently smiled.

"Knock again, my dear," he said; "you don't knock half hard enough."

I knocked again with all my might, and got a bruised hand for a
fortnight, but there was not even the momentary content produced by an
active echo. The door was as dead as every thing else.

"Now for my hammer," my companion cried. "This house, in all sound law,
is my own. I will have a 'John Doe and Richard Roe'--a fine action of
ejectment. Shall I be barred out upon my own manor?"

With hot indignation he swung his hammer, but nothing came of it except
more noise. Then the Major grew warm and angry.

"My charter contains the right of burning witches or drowning them,
according to their color. The execution is specially imposed upon the
bailiff of this ancient town, and he is my own pickled-pork man. His
name is Hopkins, and I will have him out with his seal and stick and all
the rest. Am I to be laughed at in this way?"

For we thought we heard a little screech of laughter from the loneliness
of the deep dark place, but no other answer came, and perhaps it was
only our own imagining.

"Is there no other door--perhaps one at the back?" I asked, as the lord
of the manor stamped.

"No, that has been walled up long ago. The villain has defied me from
the very first. Well, we shall see. This is all very fine. You witness
that they deny the owner entrance?"

"Undoubtedly I can depose to that. But we must not waste your valuable
time."

"After all, the poor ruin is worthless," he went on, calming down as we
retired. "It must be leveled, and that hole filled up. It is quite an
eye-sore to our new parade. And no doubt it belongs to me--no doubt it
does. The fellow who claims it was turned out of the law. Fancy any man
turned out of the law! Erema, in all your far West experience, did you
ever see a man bad enough to be turned out of the law?"

"Major Hockin, how can I tell? But I fear that their practice was very,
very sad--they very nearly always used to hang them."

"The best use--the best use a rogue can be put to. Some big thief has
put it the o