ce. Here they are!' And he
handed me a bundle of letters, for the most part written in the
scrawling hand of the illiterate. 'If you look,' he went on, 'you will
see that none of them give any reason for leaving. It is merely--"We
CANNOT POSSIBLY stay here any longer," or "We MUST give up possession
IMMEDIATELY," which they have done, and in every instance before the
quarter was up. Being naturally greatly astonished and perturbed, I made
careful inquiries, and, at length--for the North Country rustic is most
reticent and difficult to "draw"--succeeded in extracting from three of
them the reason for the general exodus. The houses are all HAUNTED!
There was nothing amiss with them, they informed me, till about three
weeks ago, when they all heard all sorts of alarming noises--crashes as
if every atom of crockery they possessed was being broken; bangs on the
panels of doors; hideous groans; diabolical laughs; and blood-curdling
screams. Nor was that all; some of them vowed they had seen
things--horrible hairy hands, with claw-like nails and knotted joints,
that came out of dark corners and grabbed at them; naked feet with
enormous filthy toes; and faces--HORRIBLE faces that peeped at them over
the banisters or through the windows; and sooner than stand any more of
it--sooner than have their wives and bairns frightened out of their
senses, they would sacrifice a quarter's rent and go. "We are sorry, Mr
Krantz," they said in conclusion, "for you have been a most considerate
landlord, but stay we cannot."' Here my friend paused.

"'And have you no explanation of these hauntings?' I asked.

"Krantz shook his head. 'No!' he said, 'the whole thing is a most
profound mystery to me. At first I attributed it to practical jokers,
people dressed up; but a couple of nights' vigil in the haunted district
soon dissipated that theory.'

"'You say district,' I remarked. 'Are the houses close together--in the
same road or valley?'

"'In a valley,' Krantz responded--'the Valley of Dolmen. It is ten miles
from here.'

"'Dolmen!' I murmured, 'why Dolmen?'

"'Because,' Krantz explained, 'in the centre of the valley is a hill, on
the top of which is a Druids' circle.'

"'How far are the houses off the hill?' I queried.

"'Various distances,' Krantz replied; 'one or two very close to the base
of it, and others further away.'

"'But within a radius of a few miles?'

"Krantz nodded. 'Oh yes,' he answered. 'The valley itself is small.