akes!"--"Shunk" and other familiar appellations.

"Hush, hush!" cried the rector. "One of you--Mr Rounds, will you have
the goodness to summon the sexton."

"Hey! hey! Sax'on!" shouted the miller in a voice of thunder; and he
supplemented his summons by kicking loudly at the door.

"Excuse me, Mr Rounds," said the rector; "the call will suffice."

"But it don't suffice, Parson," said the bluff churchwarden. "Hi,
Chakes, man, coom down an' open doooor!"

"Straange and queer," said the butcher. "Theer arn't nobody, or they'd
say summat."

There was another shout.

"Plaace arn't harnted, is it?" said a voice from the little crowd.

"Will somebody have the goodness to go for my set of the church keys,"
said the rector with dignity. "You? Thank you, Mr Macey. You know
where they hang."

Macey went off at a quick pace; and, to fill up the time, the rector
knocked with the top of his stick.

By this time the doctor had joined the group.

"It seems very strange," he said. "The sexton must have gone up
himself, nobody else had keys."

"And there appears to be nothing to cause him to raise an alarm," said
the rector. "Surely the man has not been walking in his sleep."

"Tchah!" cried the churchwarden; "not he, sir. Wean't hardly walk a
dozen steps, even when he's awake. Why, hallo! what now?"

"Here he is! Here he is!" came excitedly from the crowd, as the sexton
walked deliberately up with a lantern in one hand, a bunch of keys in
the other.

"Mr Chakes," said the rector sternly, "what is the meaning of this?"

"Dunno, sir. I come to see," replied the sexton. "I thowt I heerd bell
tolling, and I got up and as there seems to be some'at the matter I
comed."

"Then, you did not go into the belfry to ring the alarm," cried the
doctor.

"Nay, I ben abed and asleep till the noise wackened me."

"It is very strange," said the rector. "Ah, here is Mr Macey. Have
the goodness to open the door; and, Mr Rounds, will you keep watch over
the windows to see if any one escapes. This must be some trick."

As the door was opened the rector turned to his pupils.

"Surely, young gentlemen," he said in a whisper, "you have not been
guilty of any prank."

They all indignantly disclaimed participation, and the rector led the
way into the great silent tower, where he paused.

"I'm afraid I must leave the search to younger men," he said. "That
winding staircase will be too much for me."

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