darkness, but the upper
windows caught the glint of the moon and emitted a pallid and sickly
glimmer. The whole effect was so weird and gloomy that Kate felt her
heart sink within her. The wagonette pulled up in front of the door,
and Girdlestone assisted her to alight.

There had been no lights or any symptoms of welcome, but as they pulled
down the trunks the door opened and a little old woman appeared with a
candle in her hand, which she carefully shaded from the wind while she
peered out into the darkness.

"Is that Mr. Girdlestone?" she cried.

"Of course it is," the merchant said impatiently. "Did I not telegraph
and tell you that I was coming?"

"Yes, yes," she answered, hobbling forward with the light. "And this is
the young lady? Come in, my dear, come in. We have not got things very
smart yet, but they will soon come right."

She led the way through a lofty hall into a large sitting-room, which,
no doubt, had been the monkish refectory in bygone days. It looked very
bleak and cold now, although a small fire sputtered and sparkled in the
corner of the great iron grate. There was a pan upon the fire, and the
deal table in the centre of the room was laid out roughly as for a meal.
The candle which the old woman had carried in was the only light, though
the flickering fire cast strange fantastic shadows in the further
corners and among the great oaken rafters which formed the ceiling.

"Come up to the fire, my dear," said the old woman. "Take off your
cloak and warm yourself." She held her own shrivelled arms towards the
blaze, as though her short exposure to the night air had chilled her.
Glancing at her, Kate saw that her face was sharp-featured and cunning,
with a loose lower lip which exposed a line of yellow teeth, and a chin
which bristled with a tuft of long grey hairs.

From without there came the crunching of gravel as the wagonette turned
and rattled down the avenue. Kate listened to the sound of the wheels
until they died away in the distance. They seemed somehow to be the
last link which bound her to the human race. Her heart failed her
completely, and she burst into tears.

"What's the matter then?" the old woman asked, looking up at her.
"What are ye crying about?"

"Oh, I am so miserable and so lonely," she cried. "What have I done
that I should be so unhappy? Why should I be taken to this horrible,
horrible place?"

"What's the matter with the place?" asked her withered c