t,
and the last unfortunate wretch met a hideous death on this spot where
we now stand."

He paused as if overcome by the memory of his crime.

"God avenged that dreadful deed. That night I died, and I am now
suffering the tortures of the damned. Every night I am hunted by my
victims, as you have seen. I am now the quarry, hunted from the castle
court, on through the forest, to this hidden and haunted spot. Thousands
and thousands of times I have suffered this: I endure all the agonies
I made them suffer. I am doomed to undergo this to the last day, when I
shall be hunted over the wastes of hell by legions of demons."

Again he paused, his eyes terrible with the anguish of a lost soul. He
resumed in a sterner tone:

"Take warning by my fate. Providence, kinder to you than to me, has
guided you hither to-night that you might learn of my punishment. While
you still have time repent of your crimes and endeavour to make amends
for the suffering you have inflicted. Remember--the wages of sin is
death. Remember me--and my fate!"

The next moment the phantom had faded from view.

Only the hounds were crouching near the count, panting fearfully. All
else was silent gloom and night. After a terrible vigil the morning
came, and Graf Hermann, now a changed man, returned to his castle in
silence, and henceforth endeavoured to profit by the warning and follow
the advice of his unhappy ancestor.

CHAPTER IV--DRACHENFELS TO RHEINSTEIN

The Dragon's Rock

Among the many legends invented by the early Christian monks to advance
their faith, there are few more beautiful than that attached to the
Drachenfels, the Dragon's Rock, a rugged and picturesque mass of
volcanic porphyry rising above the Rhine on its right bank. Half-way up
one of its pointed crags is a dark cavern known as the 'Dragon's Cave,'
which was at one time, in that misty past to which all legends belong,
the habitation of a hideous monster, half-beast and half-reptile. The
peasants of the surrounding district held the creature in superstitious
awe, worshipped him, and offered up sacrifices of human beings at the
instigation of their pagan priests. Foremost among the worshippers of
the dragon were two warrior princes, Rinbod and Horsrik, who frequently
made an onslaught on the Christian people dwelling on the opposite bank
of the Rhine, carrying off many captives to be offered as sacrifices to
the dragon.

On one such occasion, while, according to their