our faces. Directly opposite gaped the black
throat of the huge open fireplace, the ashes of wood fires still piled
and scattered about the hearth, and on either side of the projecting
chimney-column were the deep recesses holding the big twin cauldrons for
boiling clothes. Upon the lids of these cauldrons stood the two little
oil lamps, shaded red, which gave all the light there was, and
immediately in front of the fireplace there was a small circular table
with three chairs set about it. Overhead, the narrow slit windows, high
up the walls, pointed to a dim network of wooden rafters half lost among
the shadows, and then came the dark vault of the roof. Cheerless and
unalluring, for all the red light, it certainly was, reminding me of
some unused conventicle, bare of pews or pulpit, ugly and severe, and I
was forcibly struck by the contrast between the normal uses to which the
place was ordinarily put, and the strange and medieval purpose which had
brought us under its roof tonight.

Possibly an involuntary shudder ran over me, for my companion turned
with a confident look to reassure me, and he was so completely master of
himself that I at once absorbed from his abundance, and felt the chinks
of my failing courage beginning to close up. To meet his eye in the
presence of danger was like finding a mental railing that guided and
supported thought along the giddy edges of alarm.

"I am quite ready," I whispered, turning to listen for approaching
footsteps.

He nodded, still keeping his eyes on mine. Our whispers sounded hollow
as they echoed overhead among the rafters.

"I'm glad you are here," he said. "Not all would have the courage. Keep
your thoughts controlled, and imagine the protective shell round
you--round your inner being."

"I'm all right," I repeated, cursing my chattering teeth.

He took my hand and shook it, and the contact seemed to shake into me
something of his supreme confidence. The eyes and hands of a strong man
can touch the soul. I think he guessed my thought, for a passing smile
flashed about the corners of his mouth.

"You will feel more comfortable," he said, in a low tone, "when the
chain is complete. The Colonel we can count on, of course.
Remember, though," he added warningly, "he may perhaps become
controlled--possessed--when the thing comes, because he won't know how
to resist. And to explain the business to such a man--!" He shrugged
his shoulders expressively. "But it will only be