of nervous
excitement, but I seemed to think that she was not addressing me. As I
stole a glance round the place I saw the eyes of the rats in the bone
heaps, but missed the eyes along the back. But even as I looked I saw
them again appear. The old woman's 'Wait!' had given me a respite from
attack, and the men had sunk back to their reclining posture.

'I once lost a ring--a beautiful diamond hoop that had belonged to a
queen, and which was given to me by a farmer of the taxes, who
afterwards cut his throat because I sent him away. I thought it must
have been stolen, and taxed my people; but I could get no trace. The
police came and suggested that it had found its way to the drain. We
descended--I in my fine clothes, for I would not trust them with my
beautiful ring! I know more of the drains since then, and of rats,
too! but I shall never forget the horror of that place--alive with
blazing eyes, a wall of them just outside the light of our torches.
Well, we got beneath my house. We searched the outlet of the drain,
and there in the filth found my ring, and we came out.

'But we found something else also before we came! As we were coming
toward the opening a lot of sewer rats--human ones this time--came
towards us. They told the police that one of their number had gone
into the drain, but had not returned. He had gone in only shortly
before we had, and, if lost, could hardly be far off. They asked help
to seek him, so we turned back. They tried to prevent me going, but I
insisted. It was a new excitement, and had I not recovered my ring?
Not far did we go till we came on something. There was but little
water, and the bottom of the drain was raised with brick, rubbish, and
much matter of the kind. He had made a fight for it, even when his
torch had gone out. But they were too many for him! They had not been
long about it! The bones were still warm; but they were picked clean.
They had even eaten their own dead ones and there were bones of rats
as well as of the man. They took it cool enough those other--the human
ones--and joked of their comrade when they found him dead, though they
would have helped him living. Bah! what matters it--life or death?'

'And had you no fear?' I asked her.

'Fear!' she said with a laugh. 'Me have fear? Ask Pierre! But I was
younger then, and, as I came through that horrible drain with its wall
of greedy eyes, always moving with the circle of the light from the
torches, I did not feel e