Edie guided him along a deep ravine till they came to a precipice of
rock overhung with brushwood and copse. Here completely concealed was
the mouth of a cave, where, as Edie said, they would be in perfect
safety. Only two other persons knew of its existence, and these two were
at present far away. The cavern was in the shape of a cross, and had
evidently been the abode of some anchorite of a time long past. In the
corner was a turning stair, narrow but quite passable, which
communicated with the chapel above--and so, by a winding passage in the
thickness of the wall, with the interior of the priory of St. Ruth.
Twilight faded into night, and the night itself wore away, while Edie
sat telling Lovel all the old-world tales he could lay his tongue to, in
order to keep the mind of the young man from brooding over his
situation. They sat close together on a little watch-tower niched deep
in the wall, and breathed the night air, while waiting for the hour at
which they must betake them to the beach, to meet the boat which
Lieutenant Taffril was to have in readiness.
Midnight approached, the moon rose high in the sky above, but the voice
of the Blue-Gown still droned on, telling his tales of old time, when
suddenly Lovel, whose ears were quicker, laid his hand on his
companion's arm.
"Hush," he whispered, "I hear some one speaking!"
So saying Lovel pointed in the direction of the sound,--toward the door
of the chancel at the west end of the building, where a carved window
let in a flood of moonlight upon the floor.
Two human figures detached themselves from the darkness and advanced.
The lantern which one of them carried gleamed pale in the bright
moonlight. It was evident in a moment by their motions that they could
not be officers searching for Lovel. As they approached nearer, the
beggar recognised the two figures as those of Dousterswivel and Sir
Arthur.
Lovel was about to retreat, but a touch on the arm from the old
Blue-Gown convinced him that his best course was to remain quiet where
he was. In case of any alarm, there was always the passage behind, and
they could gain the shelter of the wood long before any pursuit would be
possible.
Dousterswivel was evidently making some proposition about which Sir
Arthur was uncertain.
"Great expense--great expense!" were the first words they heard him
mutter.
"Expenses--to be sure," said Dousterswivel; "there must be great
expenses. You do not expect to reap before you do sow the seed. Now, Sir
Arthur, you have sowed this night a little pinch of ten guineas, and if
you do not reap the big harvest, it is because you have only sowed a
little pinch of seed. Much seed sown, much harvest reaped. That is the
way to find treasure. You shall see, Sir Arthur, mine worthy patron!"
The German now put before his dupe a little silver plate engraved
with strange signs, squares of nine times nine figures, flying
serpents with turkey-cocks' heads, and other wonderful things.
Then having professed to lay out the baronet's ten guineas in what he
called "suffumigations,"--that is, to scare away the demons which kept
guard over the treasures,--he informed him that he was ready to proceed.
The treasure itself could not be obtained till the stroke of midnight.
But in the meanwhile he was willing to show Sir Arthur the guardian
demon of the treasure-house, which, "like one fierce watchdog" (as the
pretended wizard explained), could be called up by his magic power.
But Sir Arthur was not particularly keen to see such marvels. He thought
they had little enough time as it was, and if he could get the
treasures, he preferred, supposing it to be the same thing to his guide,
to let sleeping demons lie.
"But I could show you the spirit very well," said Dousterswivel. "I
would draw a circle with a pentagon, and make my suffumigation within
it, while you kept the demon at bay with a drawn sword. You would see
first a hole open in the solid wall. Then through it would come one stag
pursued by three black greyhounds. They would pull him down, and then
one black ugly negro would appear and take the stag from them. Then,
paff! all would be gone. After that horns would be winded, and in would
come the great Peolphan, the Mighty Hunter of the North, mounted on his
black steed--but you are sure that you do not care to see all this?"
"Why, I am not afraid," said the poor baronet, "that is, if--do any
mishaps ever happen on such occasions?"
"Bah--mischiefs, no!" said the German. "Sometimes if the circle be no
quite just, or the beholder be frightened and not hold the sword firm
and straight toward him, the Great Hunter will take his advantage, and
drag him exorcist out of the circle and throttle him. That happen
sometimes."
This was quite enough for Sir Arthur, who did not desire any intercourse
with demons on such terms.
Whereupon Dousterswivel, the time of midnight being near, set fire to a
little pile of chips, which instantly burned up with a bright light.
Then when the flame was at its highest, he cast into the blaze a handful
of perfumes which smoked with a strong and pungent odour. This made both
Dousterswivel and his pupil cough and sneeze heartily, and by and by,
the vapour mounting upward, it found out Lovel and Edie in their high
watch-tower, making them also sneeze loudly in their turn.
"Was that an echo? Or are there others present in this place?" cried the
baronet, astonished at the sound.
"No, no," said the German, who had so long employed himself with magic
that he had grown half to believe in it, "no--at least, I hope not!"
Here a complete fit of sneezing, together with a kind of hollow
grunting cough from Edie Ochiltree, so alarmed the wizard that he would
have fled at once, had not Sir Arthur prevented him by force.
"You juggling villain," cried the baronet, whom impending ruin made
desperate, "this is some trick of yours to get off fulfilling your
bargain. Show me the treasure you have promised, or by the faith of a
ruined man, I will send you where you will see spirits enough!"
"Consider, my honoured patron," said the now thoroughly frightened
treasure-seeker, "this is not the best treatment. And then the demons--"
[Illustration: "AT this moment Edie Ochiltree, entering fully into the
spirit of the scene, gave vent to a prolonged and melancholy howl.
Dousterswivel flung himself on his knees.
'Dear Sir Arthurs,' he cried, 'let us go--or at least let _me_ go!'
'No, you cheating scoundrel,' cried the knight, unsheathing his sword,
'that shift shall not serve you. I will see the treasure before I leave
this place--or I will run my sword through you as an impostor, though
all the spirits of the dead should rise around us!'"]
At this moment Edie Ochiltree, entering fully into the spirit of the
scene, gave vent to a prolonged and melancholy howl.
Dousterswivel flung himself on his knees.
"Dear Sir Arthurs," he cried, "let us go--or at least let _me_ go!"
"No, you cheating scoundrel," cried the knight, unsheathing his sword,
"that shift shall not serve you. I will see the treasure before I leave
this place--or I will run my sword through you as an impostor, though
all the spirits of the dead should rise around us!"
"For the love of Heaven, be patient, mine honoured patron," said the
German, "you shall have all the treasure I knows of--you shall, indeed!
But do not speak about the spirits. It makes them angry!"
Muttering exorcisms and incantations all the while, Dousterswivel
proceeded to a flat stone in the corner, which bore on its surface the
carved likeness of an armed warrior.