prepared,
and which the size of the chamber itself, together with the vastness of
the stones used in the operation of grinding, and connected with the
huge water-wheel outside, proved to be by no means inconsiderable.
Strong shafts of timber supported the flooring above, and were crossed
by other boards placed horizontally, from which various implements in
use at the mill depended, giving the chamber, imperfectly lighted as it
now was by the lamp borne by Abel, a strange and almost mysterious
appearance. Three or four of the miller's men, armed with pikes, had
followed their master, and, though much alarmed, they vowed to die
rather than give up the abbot.

By this time Hal o' Nabs had joined the group, and proceeding towards a
raised part of the chamber where the grinding-stones were set, he knelt
down, and laying hold of a small ring, raised up a trapdoor. The fresh
air which blew up through the aperture, combined with the rushing sound
of water, showed that the Calder flowed immediately beneath; and, having
made some slight preparation, Hal let himself down into the stream.

At this moment a loud crash was heard, and one of the miller's men cried
out that the arquebussiers had burst open the door.

"Be hondy, then, lads, and let him down!" cried Hal o' Nabs, who had
some difficulty in maintaining his footing on the rough, stony bottom of
the swift stream.

Passively yielding, the abbot suffered the miller and one of the
stoutest of his men to assist him through the trapdoor, while a third
held down the lamp, and showed Hal o' Nabs, up to his middle in the
darkling current, and stretching out his arms to receive the burden. The
light fell upon the huge black circle of the watershed now stopped, and
upon the dripping arches supporting the mill. In another moment the
abbot plunged into the water, the trapdoor was replaced, and bolted
underneath by Hal, who, while guiding his companion along, and bidding
him catch hold of the wood-work of the wheel, heard a heavy trampling of
many feet on the boards above, showing that the pursuers had obtained
admittance.

Encumbered by his heavy vestments, the abbot could with difficulty
contend against the strong current, and he momently expected to be swept
away; but he had a stout and active assistant by his side, who soon
placed him under shelter of the wheel. The trampling overhead continued
for a few minutes, after which all was quiet, and Hal judged that,
finding their se