nd preceded by his mastiff, sought for the enemy; unfortunately, the
door of the dining room opened upon a trellised orchard; the night was
dark; doubtless the person who had sped the arrow was already far away,
or well hidden in the top of some thick tree.

Snog bounded hither and thither in the eagerness of his search. Father
Griffen recalled his two slaves who were too venturesome and would have
penetrated into the orchard.

"Well, father, where are they?" said the chevalier, brandishing his
sword: "shall we charge upon them? A lantern--give me a lantern; we will
visit the orchard and the neighborhood of the house."

"No, no, not a lantern, my son, it would serve to point us out to the
assailants if there are a number, and you would be too much exposed; you
would receive an arrow in you. Come, come," said the priest, lowering
his gun after some moments of attentive scrutiny; "it is but an alarm;
let us return and thank the Lord for the clumsiness of this cannibal,
for if he had not blundered, you would not be here, my son. What
astonishes me, and for which I thank God, is that you have escaped; a
native so bold as to make such an attempt should have a true eye and a
sure hand."

"But what harm have you ever done these savages, Father?"

"None! I have often been in their settlement at the Isle des Saintes,
and have always been properly received; thus I cannot understand the
object of this attack. But let us look at this arrow--I shall know from
the feather if it is a native arrow."

"We must keep a good watch, to-night, Father, and to this end confide in
me," said the Gascon. "You see that it is not only in a love affair that
I have firmness."

"I do not doubt you, my son, and I accept your offer. I will fasten the
windows securely against the assassins, and bar the door strongly. Snog
will act as picket. It will not be the first time this house has stood a
siege; a dozen English pirates attacked it two years ago, but with my
slaves and the aid of an official from Cabesterre, who was accidentally
at my house, we punished the heretics severely."

So saying, Father Griffen entered the dining room, withdrawing with some
effort the iron-barbed arrow which stuck in the back of the chair, he
exclaimed with surprise, "There is a paper attached to the feather of
this arrow!" Then, unfolding it, he read these words, written in a large
and bold hand: "Warning number one, to the Chevalier de Croustillac."

"To the Rev.