nt off to bed.

"When I got down to lunch I learnt that Beaumont had wired to say that he
would be in soon after four; also that a message had been sent to the
Rector. And it was generally plain that the ladies of the house were in a
tremendous fluster.

"Beaumont's train was late and he did not get home until five, but even
then the Rector had not put in an appearance and the butler came in to
say that the coachman had returned without him as he had been called away
unexpectedly. Twice more during the evening the carriage was sent down,
but the clergyman had not returned and we had to delay the marriage until
the next day.

"That night I arranged the 'Defense' 'round the girl's bed and the
Captain and his wife sat up with her as before. Beaumont, as I expected,
insisted on keeping watch with me and he seemed in a curiously frightened
mood; not for himself, you know, but for Miss Hisgins. He had a horrible
feeling he told me, that there would be a final, dreadful attempt on his
sweetheart that night.

"This, of course, I told him was nothing but nerves; yet really, it made
me feel very anxious; for I have seen too much not to know that under
such circumstances a premonitory _conviction_ of impending danger is not
necessarily to be put down entirely to nerves. In fact, Beaumont was so
simply and earnestly convinced that the night would bring some
extraordinary manifestation that I got Parsket to rig up a long cord from
the wire of the butler's bell, to come along the passage handy.

"To the butler himself I gave directions not to undress and to give the
same order to two of the footmen. If I rang he was to come instantly,
with the footmen, carrying lanterns and the lanterns were to be kept
ready lit all night. If for any reason the bell did not ring and I blew
my whistle, he was to take that as a signal in the place of the bell.

"After I had arranged all these minor details I drew a pentacle about
Beaumont and warned him very particularly to stay within it, whatever
happened. And when this was done, there was nothing to do but wait and
pray that the night would go as quietly as the night before.

"We scarcely talked at all and by about one a.m. we were all very tense
and nervous so that at last Parsket got up and began to walk up and
down the corridor to steady himself a bit. Presently I slipped off my
pumps and joined him and we walked up and down, whispering occasionally
for something over an hour, until in tur