icularly Corsican--there have been many tragedies. In some
cases merely orthodox tragedies--a smile, a blow, a groan; in other
cases peculiar tragedies--peculiar even in that country and in the
grimness of the mediaeval age.

"Since 1316 the headquarters of my branch of the Paolis has been at
Sartoris, once the strongest fortified castle in Corsica, but now, alas!
almost past repair, in fact little better than a heap of crumbling
ruins. As you know, Mr O'Donnell, it takes a vast fortune to keep such a
place merely habitable.

"I lived there with my mother until my marriage two years ago, and
neither she nor I had ever seen or heard any superphysical
manifestations. From time to time some of the servants complained of odd
noises, and there was one room which none of them would pass alone even
in daylight; but we laughed at their fears, merely attributing them to
the superstition which is so common among the Corsican peasants.

"The year after my marriage, my husband, a Mr Vercoe, who was a great
friend of ours, and I, accepted my mother's invitation to spend
Christmas with her, and we all three travelled together to Sartoris.

"It was an ideal season, and the snow--an exceptional sight in my native
town--lay thick in the Castle grounds.

"But to get on with my story--for I see I must not try your patience
with unnecessary detail--I must give you a brief description of the
bedroom in which my husband and I slept. Like all the rooms in the
Castle, it was oak panelled throughout. Floor, ceiling, and walls, all
were of oak, and the bed, also of oak, and certainly of no later date
than the fourteenth century, was superbly carved, and had been recently
valued at L30,000.

"There were two entrances, the one leading into a passage, and the other
into a large reception room, formerly a chapel, at the furthest
extremity of which was a huge barred and bolted door that had not been
opened for more than a hundred years. This door led down a flight of
stone steps to a series of ancient dungeons that occupied the space
underneath our bedroom and the reception room.

"On Christmas Eve we retired to rest somewhat earlier than usual, and,
being tired after a long day's motoring, speedily fell into a deep
sleep. We awoke simultaneously, both querying the time and agreeing that
it must be about five o'clock.

"Whilst we were talking, we suddenly heard, to our utter astonishment,
the sound of footsteps--heavy footsteps--accompanied