rd and
Lady Lashmore. His son wrote rapidly.

"And now," said the doctor, "for our conclusions. Mirza, the Polish
Jewess, who became Lady Lashmore in 1615, practised sorcery in life
and became, after death, a ghoul--one who sustained an unholy
existence by unholy means--a vampire."

"But, sir! Surely that is but a horrible superstition of the Middle
Ages!"

"Rob, I could take you to a castle not ten miles from Cracow in Poland
where there are--certain relics, which would for ever settle your
doubts respecting the existence of vampires. Let us proceed. The son
of Mirza, Paul Dhoon, inherited the dreadful proclivities of his
mother, but his shadowy existence was cut short in the traditional,
and effective, manner. Him we may neglect.

"It is Mirza, the sorceress, who must engage our attention. She was
decapitated by her husband. This punishment prevented her, in the
unhallowed life which, for such as she, begins after ordinary decease,
from practising the horrible rites of a vampire. Her headless body
could not serve her as a vehicle for nocturnal wanderings, but the
evil spirit of the woman might hope to gain control of some body more
suitable.

"Nurturing an implacable hatred against all of the house of Dhoon,
that spirit, disembodied, would frequently be drawn to the
neighbourhood of Mirza's descendants, both by hatred and by affinity.
Two horrible desires of the Spirit Mirza would be gratified if a Dhoon
could be made her victim--the desire for blood and the desire for
vengeance! The fate of Lord Lashmore would be sealed if that spirit
could secure incarnation!"

Dr. Cairn paused, glancing at his son, who was writing at furious
speed. Then--

"A magician more mighty and more evil than Mirza ever was or could
be," he continued, "a master of the Black Art, expelled a woman's
spirit from its throne and temporarily installed in its place the
blood-lustful spirit of Mirza!"

"My God, sir!" cried Robert Cairn, and threw down his pencil. "I begin
to understand!"

"Lady Lashmore," said Dr. Cairn, "since she was weak enough to
consent to be present at a certain _seance_, has, from time to time,
been _possessed_; she has been possessed by the spirit of a vampire!
Obedient to the nameless cravings of that control, she has sought out
Lord Lashmore, the last of the House of Dhoon. The horrible attack
made, a mighty will which, throughout her temporary incarnation, has
held her like a hound in leash, has dragged her f