n the
gloom of the garden.

"Poor man! he thought of his wife and child, perhaps, sitting here
alone while all the rest make merry, with no care for him. Uncle must
see to this;" and Helen fell into a reverie till Amy came to propose
retiring.

"I meant to have seen where all these doors led, but was so busy
dressing I had no time, so must leave it for my amusement to-morrow.
Uncle says it's a very Radcliffian place. How like an angel that man
did play!" chattered Amy, and lulled herself to sleep by humming the
last air Casimer had given them.

Helen could not sleep, for the lonely figure in the garden haunted
her, and she wearied herself with conjectures about Hoffman and his
mystery. Hour after hour rung from the cuckoo-clock in the hall, but
still she lay awake, watching the curious shadows in the room, and
exciting herself with recalling the tales of German goblins with which
the courier had amused them the day before.

"It is close and musty here, with all this old tapestry and stuff
about; I'll open the other window," she thought; and, noiselessly
slipping from Amy's side, she threw on wrapper and slippers, lighted
her candle and tried to unbolt the tall, diamond-paned lattice. It was
rusty and would not yield, and, giving it up, she glanced about to see
whence air could be admitted. There were four doors in the room, all
low and arched, with clumsy locks and heavy handles. One opened into
a closet, one into the passage; the third was locked, but the fourth
opened easily, and, lifting her light, she peeped into a small octagon
room, full of all manner of curiosities. What they were she had no
time to see, for her startled eyes were riveted on an object that
turned her faint and cold with terror.

A heavy table stood in the middle of the room, and seated at it,
with some kind of weapon before him, was a man who looked over his
shoulder, with a ghastly face half hidden by hair and beard, and
fierce black eyes as full of malignant menace as was the clinched hand
holding the pistol. One instant Helen looked, the next flung to the
door, bolted it and dropped into a chair, trembling in every limb. The
noise did not wake Amy, and a moment's thought showed Helen the wisdom
of keeping her in ignorance of this affair. She knew the major was
close by, and possessing much courage, she resolved to wait a little
before rousing the house.

Hardly had she collected herself, when steps were heard moving softly
in the octa