hardly ruffled by a passing sigh of air. A large bird floated over
it on expanded wings, it looked white as a swan in the moonlight,
but cast a shadow black as pitch on the vaporous sheet that covered
the face of the pool.

It was as though, like Dinorah, this bird were dancing to its own
shadow. But unlike Dinorah, it was silent. It uttered no song,
there was even no sound of the rush of air from its broad wings.
When Mehetabel reached the stone she stood for a moment palpitating,
gasping for breath, and her breath passing from her lips in white
puffs of steam.

The haze from the mere seemed to rise and fling its long streamers
about her head and blindfold her eyes, so that she could see neither
the lake nor the trees, not even the anvil-stone. Only was there
about her a general silvery glitter, and a sense of oppression lay
upon her.

Mehetabel had escaped from the inn, as she was, with bare arms, her
skirt looped up.

She stood thus, with the lump of ironstone resting on the block,
the full flood of moonlight upon her, blinding her eyes, but
revealing her against a background of foliage, like a statue of
alabaster. Startled by a rustle in the bulrushes and willow growth
behind her, Mehetabel turned and looked, but her eyes were not
clear enough for her to discern anything, and as the sound ceased,
she recovered from her momentary alarm.

She had heard that a deer was in Pudmoor that was supposed to have
escaped from the park at Peperharow. Possibly the creature was
there. It was harmless. There were no noxious beasts there. It was
too damp for vipers, nothing in Pudmoor was hurtful save the gnats
that there abounded. Then, with her face turned to the north, away
from the dazzling glory of the moon, Mehetabel swung the lump of
kidney iron she had taken as hammer, once from east to west, and
once from west to east. With a third sweep she brought it down upon
Thor's Stone and cried:

"Take him away! Take him away!"

CHAPTER XXII.

IVER! COME.

She paused, drew a long breath.

Again she swung the hammer-stone. And now she turned round, and
passed the piece of iron into her left hand. She raised it and
struck on the anvil, and cried: "Save me from him. Take him away."
A rush, all the leaves of the trees behind seemed to be stirring,
and all the foliage falling about her.

A hand was laid on her shoulder roughly, and the stone dropped
from her fingers on the anvil. Mehetabel shrank, froze, as stru