easy reach. The roof was made of enormous oak rafters, and
through it ran a ladder reaching higher than they could see.

"That will be the way up to the bell," said Lindsay.

"What a horrible place for Sir Mervyn to climb!" commented Cicely. "I
can imagine him rushing up with a dagger in his hand, and the others
swarming after him. I'm almost sorry they killed him. He was very brave,
although he was so bad. You go first, Lindsay."

Up and up they toiled, till they thought they should never reach the
top.

"The bell's hung very high," panted Cicely.

"We're nearly there now," replied Lindsay.

The ladder ended in a rough platform which was built round the bell,
probably to allow workmen to attend to it now and then in case it were
not hanging safely. It looked a great mass of metal, so large and heavy
that even the clapper must be an enormous weight.

"There's a very queer mark on it here," said Cicely, in rather an awed
voice.

Lindsay walked round to the other side of the platform. There was a most
curious stain running along a portion of the bottom of the bell--a dull,
irregular mark that might well have had its origin in some dark and
dreadful deed. Cicely touched it cautiously, and then looked at her
finger as if she expected to find the traces red on her hand.

"I think we'd better go down again," she said, with a shiver.

"All right, only I want to look out of the window first. Oh, what a
glorious view!"

There was indeed a splendid prospect to be seen from the old church
tower--a vista of village roofs, and tree tops, and fields, and winding
high road, and distant woods and hills, all bathed in the beautiful,
rosy light of sunset. It was so lovely that the girls stood for some
time watching the sky turn from pink to crimson, and great bands of
dappled clouds catch the reflection from the glow beneath. They quite
forgot that supper would probably be over at the Manor, and that Miss
Russell would be wondering why Monica had kept them so long, and wishing
she had not allowed them to go without Miss Frazer or one of the
monitresses to escort them back.

At last they tore themselves reluctantly away. It was much harder to
come down the ladder than it had been to climb up. Cicely turned quite
giddy, and they were both glad when they reached the square room where
the bell rope was hanging. It was very dark on the winding staircase;
they had to feel their steps most carefully, and keep a hand on the wall