s
the mosquito net round his bed. He was out on the floor in his own
room at home. He had been dreaming, and was now awake; but the
screams continued, and were most horribly real. It was not Becky's
voice--no child could have cried like that.

There was a door from his room into Mrs. Orban's, and through this
the boy dashed.

"Mother, mother," he cried, "what is happening?"

There was a light in the room. Mrs. Orban was standing with a look
of terror on her face.

"I don't know," she said unsteadily.

"It has been going on for ages," Eustace whispered.

But Mrs. Orban shook her head. "It has only just begun," she said.
"I must go and see what is the matter."

Eustace was haunted by his dream--a second in a dream is equivalent
to hours of real life.

"O mother, don't go!" he exclaimed in an agonized voice, and clung
to her.

"I must," was the answer, and gently but firmly Mrs. Orban put the
boy from her. "Perhaps one of the servants is ill. At least they
are both frightened, and need me. Stay here with Becky."

The words were hardly out of her mouth when the door burst open,
and in rushed Mary, followed by Kate. Both girls looked half mad
with fear.

"O ma'am, ma'am," they cried, piecing out the tale between them,
"there was a black-fellow in our room. He has stolen our watches
from under our pillows, and everything he could find before we
woke, and he was pulling the rings off Mary's finger when she felt
him and jumped out of bed. But he got the rings, and we don't know
where he is--somewhere about the house--and maybe there are others
with him. O ma'am, whatever shall we do? We shall all be murdered
in our beds."

"Nonsense, you silly girls," said Mrs. Orban, with sudden
sternness; "we can't possibly be murdered in our beds when we are
all out of them."

Even in the stress of the moment Eustace could not help being
struck by the humour of the assertion, but he was in no mood for
laughing.

Creeping to the window, he peered out, to find that it was no
longer pitch dark; there was a sufficient glimmer of light to have
enabled their uninvited guest to do all that the servants
described.

By this time Becky was awake and howling. Her mother took her into
her arms and soothed her gently.

"As to what we shall do," Mrs. Orban said in that same firm tone;
"we must all stay here till daylight together. If there are thieves
about the house, we can do nothing to check them. They will not
hurt us if we d