f
the most enlightened nations, grounds itself upon blood and sacrifice,
what wonder if, in the worship of the lords of Hell, the blood of the
innocent is an oblation well pleasing and desirable.

Rooted and ineradicable is the desire in man's heart to know good and
evil--but particularly evil. And so now Laurence desired to see the
sacrifice laid between the horns of the altar and the image above lean
over as if to gloat upon the sweet savour of its burning.

Long and carefully Laurence listened before he ventured forth. The
Chapel of the Innocents was dark and silent. Only a reflection of the
red light which burned in the keep struck through the clerestory upon
the great cross which swung above the altar. This, being dispersed
like a halo about the sign of Christ's redemption, rendered the corner
where was placed the door into the secret stairway light enough to
enable the youth to insert therein Poitou's key. The wards were turned
with well-accustomed smoothness.

Carefully shutting the door behind him so that if any one chanced to
enter the chapel nothing would be observed, Laurence set his feet upon
the steps and began his adventure of supreme peril.

It was a narrow staircase, only wide enough indeed for one to ascend
or descend at once. And the heart of Laurence sank within him at the
thought of meeting the dread Lord of Machecoul face to face in its
strait, black spirals.

He accomplished the ascent, however, without incident, and, passing
through another low arch, found himself at the end of the passage over
against the door with the curious burned hieroglyphics imprinted upon
it. There was no light in the corridor, and Laurence eagerly set his
hand to the latch. It opened as before and admitted him at a touch.

The temple-like hall was silent and dim. Only an occasional thrill as
if of an earthquake passed across it, waving the heavy hangings and
bringing a hot breath of some strange heady perfume to the nostrils.
Laurence, with a beating heart, ensconced himself in a hidden nook
behind the door. The niche was covered by a curtain and furnished with
a grooved slab of marble placed there for some purpose he could not
fathom.

Yet it was by no means wholly dark. A light shone into the Chapel of
Evil from the opposite side, and through it he could discern shadows
cast upon the floors and striding gigantic across the roof, as unseen
personages passed the light which streamed into the dusky temple.

In th