ng, and that in the course of another half hour he would have been
drunk, and incapable of being controlled, except, as on some former
occasions, by the exercise of brute force.

But Jack was evidently displeased, and considered himself to be
grievously insulted, which, after all, was the better, inasmuch as,
while he was brooding over his wrongs, he was quiet; when, otherwise, it
might have been a very difficult matter to make him so.

They partook of some refreshments, and, as the day advanced, the
brothers Bannerworth, as well as Charles Holland, began to get very
anxious upon the subject of the proceedings of Sir Francis Varney in the
Hall.

They conversed in low tones, exhausting every, as they considered,
possible conjecture to endeavour to account for his mysterious
predilection for that abode, but nothing occurred to them of a
sufficiently probable motive to induce them to adopt it as a conclusion.

They more than suspected Dr. Chillingworth, because he was so silent,
and hazarded no conjecture at all of knowing something, or of having
formed to himself some highly probable hypothesis upon the subject; but
they could not get him to agree that such was the case.

When they challenged him upon the subject, all he would say was,--

"My good friends, you perceive that, there is a great mystery somewhere,
and I do hope that to-night it will be cleared up satisfactorily."

With this they were compelled to be satisfied; and now the soft and
sombre shades of evening began to creep over the scene, enveloping all
objects in the dimness and repose of early night.

The noise from the house had ceased, and all was profoundly still. But
more than once Henry fancied he heard footsteps outside the garden.

He mentioned his suspicions to Charles Holland, who immediately said,--

"The same thing has come to my ears."

"Indeed! Then it must be so; we cannot both of us have merely imagined
such a thing. You may depend that this place is beleaguered in some way,
and that to-night will be productive of events which will throw a great
light upon the affairs connected with this vampyre that have hitherto
baffled conjecture."

"Hush!" said Charles; "there, again; I am quite confident I heard a
sound as of a broken twig outside the garden-wall. The doctor and the
admiral are in deep discussion about something,--shall we tell them?"

"No; let us listen, as yet."

They bent all their attention to listening, inclining their e