ack the door and entered
the room.

The sight which greeted his eyes was more perplexing than startling. He
saw Schoolmaster Hargrave leaning against one corner of the rude desk
over which he presided, his face plainly expressing agony or fear; Peleg
was unable to determine which feeling predominated.

"What is it, Master Hargrave?" called the boy anxiously.

In reply no articulate words were spoken; but a scream was followed by a
groan, and in the midst of it all were also sounds like the gasping and
snarling of some wild beast. The suffering of the man was manifest, but
the cause was nowhere to be seen.

There flashed into the mind of the young hunter the suggestion which
Mistress Horan had made that evil spirits were the cause of the
commotion. Such beliefs were not uncommon at the time, and although
Peleg had never shared in the superstitions of the more ignorant people,
nevertheless the mystery of the terrifying sounds, as well as the
expression of Schoolmaster Hargrave's face, caused even the young hunter
to hesitate.

"What is it, Master Hargrave?" he shouted, for the uproar still
continued.

"Oh-h-h-h! Help me! Help me!"

The cries of the schoolmaster were interrupted by strange noises, that
still appeared to come from within the desk. Moans and cries and snarls,
such as a wild beast might have emitted, were plainly to be
distinguished in the midst of the uproar.

Peleg had stopped a few feet in front of the desk, and in amazement was
watching the man before him. Apparently the schoolmaster was struggling
and striving with some unseen body or person, and with intense effort he
had grasped both sides of the desk and held it with all his strength, as
if he was fearful it might escape. In one hand he also held a
cylindrical ruler.

At this moment Mrs. Horan, who had gained sufficient courage to enter
the building, advanced to Peleg's side. "I fear 'tis sick the man is,"
she said. Turning to the schoolmaster she suggested in a loud whisper:
"If 'tis colic you are suffering from, Master Hargrave, I would
recommend----"

Her recommendation, however, was interrupted by a terrible scream from
the suffering man.

"'Tis good for you," said the kind-hearted woman once more. The
schoolmaster, however, still writhed as if in great agony and looked at
the woman with an expression that might have quieted the tongue of a
less courageous woman than Mrs. Horan.

"Why do you cling to the desk in that manner?" dema