here; I have come. What do you want?"

"The curse is comin'. We can remove it," said the old woman who went
by the name of Mally Udy.

"How?" I asked, for the sound of their voices and the sound of my own
made me bolder still.

"We've worked a charm," said Mally, the oldest woman in the party. "We
stole into Trewinion Church and took some water that the parson had
used fur christenin' his oan grancheeld, an' we've made a broth of it.
We've boiled a piece of lamb in it, with some sycamore leaves and some
hagglet (white thorn) leaves, and we've said nine charms, nine times
aich, and it'll ondo any curse."

"Where is it?" I said.

"Here, a boilin' now," was the reply.

I began to feel fearful again.

"But Maaster Roger must make a vow afore he drinks," said Mally.

"What?" I asked.

"You must say this," she said, shaking her skinny finger. "I, Roger
Trewinion, promise never to hurt the women here to-night, or their
children. I promise it by the sperrits of the place. And I make a vow
that I'll allays protect they and their children as fur as I can."

There was a cunning look on her face as she spoke. I felt now that
these were evil women, and that I would have nothing to do with them.

"I refuse to make the promise," I said.

"You'm afraid, you'm a coward," cried Deborah.

"No, I'm not afraid, I'm not a coward," I said, "and I'll stop these
proceedings of yours. You have other reasons than witchcraft for
coming here, and I'll know what they are."

This roused their passion.

"Evil sperrits shall tear 'ee," they said, "and oal your tribe."

"You are a set of evil hags," I said, furiously; "and the mysteries of
this cavern shall be brought to light."

"Stop!" said old Mally Udy, "this broth here was fur yer good. I'll
turn it to something bad and make 'ee drink it. The spirit of Betsey
Fraddam is here, and she'll make a mixture for 'ee."

I had worked myself up into a passion and I kicked the crock and
overturned it.

Never shall I forget the terrible words they said to me, or the curses
they called upon me. They cursed me in body and mind, they cursed me
in love and hate, in living and dying.

What was it, I wonder? Meaningless jargon, or not? When my story is
told you will be able to judge better.

I went out of the cave in fear, and when outside I fancied I saw the
terrible form of Betsey Fraddam. Then I went back to my home trembling.

CHAPTER VIII

THE BEGINNING OF THE E