Cuthbert hard by the hand, they heard the old woman's voice, in an
accent of stern command, uttering one single word:

"Speak!"

There was a brief pause, and then a sweet low voice rose in the
room and seemed to float round them, whilst the words with their
rhythmic cadence fell distinctly on the ears of the listening pair:

"Three times three--on a moonlight night,
The oak behind, the beech to right;
Three times three--over ling and moss,
Robin's gain is Trevlyn's loss.

"Three times three--the war is long,
Yet vengeance hums, and the back is strong;
Three times three--the dell is deep,
It knows its secret well to keep.

"Three times three--the bones gleam white,
None dare pass by day or night;
Three times three--the riddle tell!
The answer lies in the pixies' well."

The voice ceased as suddenly as it had begun.

"Is that all?" asked the harsh accents of the wise woman.

"That is all the spirits choose to tell," answered the soft voice,
already, as it seemed, far away; and in another moment the lamp
shone forth again.

The cat leaped down from the table with a hissing sound, and the
old woman was revealed in her former position, resting her two
elbows on the table, her withered face supported in the palm of her
hand.

"Thou hast heard?"

"Ay, but I have not understood. Canst thou read the riddle to me?"

But the old woman shook her head.

"That may not be; that thou must do for thyself. I will write down
the words for thee, that thou mayest not forget; but thou, and thou
alone, must find the clue."

With swift fingers she transcribed some characters on a fragment of
parchment, and Cuthbert marvelled at the skill in penmanship the
old woman displayed when she gave the paper into his hands. It was
with a beating heart that he scanned the mysterious characters; but
the old woman had risen to her feet, and motioned them away.

"Begone!" she cried, "begone! I have no more to say. Heed my
warning. Beware of menaced perils. The perils of the forest are
less than the perils of the city; and an open foe is better than a
false friend--a friend who lures those that trust him to a common
destruction, even though he himself be ready to share it. Harden
thine heart--beware of thine own merciful spirit. Turn a deaf ear
to the cry of the pursued. Swim with the current, and strive not to
stem it. And now go! I have said my say. Thou hast fortune within
thy grasp an thou hast wits to find it and hold it."

T