h his hand with my knife and it is done! Then, he
will walk in his sleep to the Haunted House. There I will meet him!
Ah, Perrin Corbet, it will be your turn to be down on the ground! I
will see him to-morrow, and the spell will work for the night.
_Bon_, nothing could be better!"

He took up his pipe again and smoked in full contentment. A sudden
stillness had fallen over the wild night. It seemed to Dominic that
he could hear the moan of the sea. He listened. His blood crept at
the weird stillness.

Hark! Hush! What was that?

The wild sad cry of a sea-gull. Nearer and nearer it came, and
Dominic's eyes were fixed in horror upon the uncurtained window.
The sea-gull came at last quite close, with wilder, sadder cries. It
flapped its wings and circled round and round the casement. Dominic
was cold and stiff with terror. He knew who the sea-gull was, but
what did it mean? Some dreadful thing was drawing near Orvilliere.

"Blaisette!" he cried, "I know you well enough! Why do you come
here?"

Wilder, more despairing grew the cries. Closer and closer the bird
drew to the panes, striking them with a twang like the sound of wild
music.

With a curse the master roused himself from the freezing spell. He
took his loaded gun from its place over the chimney piece. He fired.
One of the panes of glass was broken. Outside, on the cobbled yard,
the gull lay dead, its glazed eyes fixed on the house.

With a laugh of triumph, Dominic re-lighted his pipe and sat down
again by the fire. He had just settled once more to the reading of
_Grand-Mele_ when a very tempest of wind and hail shook the house,
and in the midst of it, a low, sharp knock fell on the house door.

This time, the master was not under a spell. He recognized the
knock. In an instant he was in the entrance hall and had flung open
the door. A rough, unkempt fisherman stood on the threshold.

"You must come at once, Monsieur," he cried, "there's been great
luck! A lot of brandy has been brought, unexpected. It's to the cave
below the Haunted House. We could have got it up the cliffs alone.
But we all agreed that you must have your share in the fun."

"Quick! where did the stuff come from?"

"From France, from les Messieurs ----."

"_Bon!_ Will you wait for me?"

"No, my horse is here--tied to the gate. He's impatient, him! I'll
be off to tell the rest you're coming."

"I'll ride too," and Dominic slammed the door, and hurried to the
back of the house wher