nostrils played the same air.

"Check!" said Lumley, rousing himself a little, and placing a knight in
such a position as to endanger my king.

"Mate!" I exclaimed ruefully.

"Hallo!" cried Blondin, waking up at the familiar word.

"No--not that sort of mate," said I, with a laugh, "but the--"

I stopped abruptly, for at that moment we heard a sound that sent a
thrill to our hearts. It was something between a rend and a crash. We
looked at each other in consternation.

"The dam's going," exclaimed Lumley.

Another crash, that there was no misunderstanding, proved that it was
gone.

We ran towards the back door, but before reaching it, we had an
additional proof that was even more convincing than the last. A rush of
tumultuous water was heard outside. Next moment the back door was burst
inward, and a deluge of water met us. Lumley, who was nearest the door,
was swept off his legs, and came against me with such violence that I
fell over him. Blondin, who was furthest off, tried to stop us, but
also went down, and all three were swept into the lower side of the hall
amid a jumble of tables, chairs, billets of wood, stray garments, and
chessmen.

The fire had been put out; so had the candle, and we were thus in nearly
pitch darkness, when we heard a yell from Salamander. It was followed
by a great splash, and we dimly perceived something like a half-naked
ghost floundering towards us.

It was Salamander!

"Hold on!" shouted Lumley.

"Dere's noting to hold on to, monsieur," cried the interpreter in
desperation, as he tripped over something and rose again--gasping.

The rush was over in half a minute, but the great weight of water that
had entered held the front door, which opened inwards, so tight, that
our hall was converted into a water-tank about three feet deep, while a
huge mass of logs and debris outside blocked the opening of the back
door.

"Stay, don't move till I get a light," cried Lumley, wading to the
corner cupboard, where, on an upper shelf, we kept our candles, with
flint, steel, and tinder.

While he was striking a light we all stood silent and shivering, but
when a candle was with difficulty lighted, I burst into an irresistible
fit of laughter for the scene we presented was ludicrous in the extreme.
It was not our woe-begone looks which tickled me, so much as the
helpless, drowned-rat-like aspect we had all assumed--all except our
chief, whose tall, strong figure holding a candl