ound began to grow softer, and now I was
treading upon ooze and mud instead of rock.

The murmur increased in a sonorous crescendo until the full cadence of
the mighty waterfall burst on my ears.

A fiery ball seemed to fill the exit. The red sun, barred with bands
of coal-black cloud, was dipping into the farther verge of the lake.

The thunder of the cataracts filled my ears. A fine spray, like a
garment of filmy silk, obscured my clearer vision; but through and
beyond it, between two torrents that sailed above like crystal bows, I
saw the _chateau_ before me.

CHAPTER XIII

THE ROULETTE-WHEEL

I stared at the scene in amazement, for the transition from the dark
tunnel through which I had come was an astounding one, and I could
hardly believe the evidence of my eyes.

I had passed right through the hollow heart of those mighty hills and
now stood underneath the huge glacier, with its million tons of ice
above me, from which the cataracts tumbled, drenching me with spray,
though I was fully a hundred yards away from the log _chateau_.

The building was located, as I had surmised, upon a narrow strip of
land, invisible from above except where its tongue, containing the
enclosed yard, ran out into the lake. It stood far back beneath the
over-hanging ledge and seemed to be secured against the living rock.
It was evident that there was no other approach except the tunnel
through which I had come, for all around the land that turbulent
whirlpool raved, where the two cataracts contended for the mastery of
the waters.

And for countless ages they must have fought together thus, and neither
gained, not since the day when those mountains rose out of the primeval
ooze.

Within the enclosed space, which was larger than I had thought on
viewing it from above, were two or three small cabins--inhabited,
probably, by habitant or half-breed dependents of the seigneur.

I must have crouched for nearly an hour at the tunnel entrance, staring
in stupefied wonder--for it grew dark, and one by one lights began to
flare at the windows until the whole north wing and central portion of
the building were illuminated. But the south wing, nearest me, was
dark, and I surmised that this portion was not occupied.

Fortune still seemed to favour me, and with this conclusion and the
thought of Jacqueline, I gained courage to advance again.

It was almost dark now and growing bitterly cold. I felt in my pocket
for my pistol