ou reach that secluded spot. Ask to be taken in in the name
of charity, and when the doors have opened to you, ask for Father Paul.
Give him the boy. Tell him all the tale, and trust him into his holy
hands without fear. He will take him; he will cast out the evil spirit.
I misdoubt me if the devil himself will have power over him whilst he is
within those hallowed walls. At least if he can find entrance there, he
will not be able to prevail; and when the foul spirit is cast out and
vanquished, you can summon his father to him and give him back his son
-- as the son of the father in Scripture was restored to him again when
the devil had been cast out by the voice of the Blessed Jesus."

"I truly think that thou art right," said John. "The powers of evil are
very strong, too strong to be combated by us unaided by the prayers and
the efforts of holy men.

"Raymond, it shall be my work to provide for this journey. My uncle will
be long absent. In his absence I may do what I will and go where I will.
I would myself pay a pilgrimage to the house where this holy man
resides, and make at the shrine of the chapel there my offering of
thanksgiving for my recovery from this hurt. We will go together. We
will take the boy with us; and the boy's father shall be one of our
party. He shall see that the powers of evil can be vanquished. He shall
see for himself the restoration of his child."

CHAPTER X. BASILDENE.

It was in the bright moonlight of a clear March evening that the twin
brothers of Gascony stood hand in hand, gazing for the first time in
their lives upon their lost inheritance of Basildene. It was not yet
wholly dark, for a saffron glow in the sky behind still showed where the
sun had lately sunk, whilst the moon was shining with frosty brightness
overhead. Dark as the surrounding woods had been, it was light enough
here in the clearing around the house. Behind the crumbling red walls
the forest grew dark and close, but in the front the larger trees had
been cleared away, and the long low house, with its heavy timbers and
many gables, stood clearly revealed before the eager eyes of the boys,
who stopped short to gaze without speaking a single word to one another.

Once, doubtless, it had been a beautiful house, more highly decorated
than was usual at the period. The heavy beams, dark with age, let into
the brickwork were many of them richly carved, and the twisted chimneys
and quaint windows showed traces o