at.

"Come, then!" replied Herne. So saying, he sprang from the stone, and,
taking Wyat's hand, led him towards the lower end of the cave, which
gradually declined till it reached the edge of a small but apparently
deep pool of water, the level of which rose above the rock that formed
its boundary.

"Remove the torch!" thundered the demon to those behind. "Now summon
your false love, Sir Thomas Wyat," he added, as his orders were obeyed,
and the light was taken into one of the side passages, so that its gleam
no longer fell upon the water.

"Appear, Anne Boleyn!" cried Wyat.

Upon this a shadowy resemblance of her he had invoked flitted over the
surface of the water, with hands outstretched towards him. So moved was
Wyat by the vision, that he would have flung himself into the pool to
grasp it if he had not been forcibly detained by the demon. During the
struggle the figure vanished, and all was buried in darkness.

"I have said she shall be yours," cried Herne; "but time is required for
the accomplishment of my purpose. I have only power over her when evil
is predominant in her heart. But such moments are not unfrequent," he
added, with a bitter laugh. "And now to the chase. I promise you it will
be a wilder and more exciting ride than you ever enjoyed in the king's
company. To the chase!--to the chase, I say!"

Sounding a call upon his horn, the light instantly reappeared. All was
stir and confusion amid the impish troop--and presently afterwards a
number of coal-black horses, and hounds of the same hue, leashed in
couples, were brought out of one of the side passages. Among the latter
were two large sable hounds of Saint Hubert's breed, whom Herne summoned
to his side by the names of Saturn and Dragon.

A slight noise, as of a blow dealt against a tree, was now heard
overhead, and Herne, imposing silence on the group by a hasty gesture,
assumed an attitude of fixed attention. The stroke was repeated a second
time.

"It is our brother, Morgan Fenwolf," cried the demon.

Catching hold of a chain hanging from the roof, which Wyat had not
hitherto noticed, he swung himself into a crevice above, and disappeared
from view. During the absence of their leader the troop remained
motionless and silent.

A few minutes afterwards Herne reappeared at the upper end of the cave.
He was accompanied by Fenwolf, between whom and Wyat a slight glance of
recognition passed.

The order being given by the demon to mount, Wya