quity; and he had just stepped on the latter to make his way across
to the wide arch of the entrance when he was hailed, not from within,
but from behind.

He faced round suddenly to see young Raynor moving quickly toward him.
He was walking rapidly, and appeared to be in a state of great
excitement.

"I say, Barch, hold on a moment, will you?" he sang out. Cleek gave him
time to get to the drawbridge and then the reason for his excitement
became known. "Look here, old chap, I'm afraid we shall have to give up
our little 'lark' for this evening, after all. Rotten bad luck, but I've
just got a message that will call me to--well, somewhere else; and I've
got to go at once. Don't expect I shall be able to get back this side of
midnight; but if you don't mind prolonging your stay and making it two
nights instead of one----"

"Not in the least. Delighted, old chap."

"Oh, well, then, that's all right. Have our night out to-morrow
instead--eh, what? Look here, Barch, blest if I don't like you
immensely. Let you into the secret. It'll be with 'Pink Gauze.'"

"Pink Gauze? Don't mean the little Frenchy, do you--the little beauty of
the photograph?"

"The very identical. Be a good boy, Barchie, and I'll take you to see
her to-morrow night. What do you think--eh, what?"

Cleek didn't say what he thought; it would have surprised the young man
if he had.

"Well, ta-ta until midnight or thereabouts, old chap. So long!" And with
a wave of the hand he was gone.

Cleek stood and looked after him for a moment, a curl on his lip, an
expression of utter contempt in his eyes; then he gave his head a jerk
indicative of a disgust beyond words, and, facing about, walked on into
the ruins.

The General had done the thing well, at all events. The atmosphere of
antiquity was very cleverly reproduced: walls, roof, floor--all had the
appearance of not having been disturbed by the hand of any one for ages.
Half-defaced armorial bearings, iron-studded doors, winding staircases,
even a donjon keep.

This he came to realize when the sight of a rusted iron ring in the
floor tempted him to pull up and lay back a slab of stone that appeared
centuries old, and to expose in doing so a twisting flight of stone
steps leading downward into the very depths of the earth.

Really, you know, the old chap had done it well. Cells down there, no
doubt--cells and chains and all that sort of thing. Well, he had time to
spare; he'd go down and have a loo