pines began to be mingled with other trees. The undergrowth was
thicker and more tangled. It was not always easy for Cuthbert to
force his way along. He paused sometimes in fear lest his steps and
the cracking of the boughs should be heard by the man in advance of
him.

On and on they went, and now the track became more distinct, and it
led downwards. An owl in a tree overhead hooted as Cuthbert passed
by, and something of a cold shiver ran through the young man's
frame; he stumbled over the outspread root of a gnarled old oak,
and fell, making more noise than he liked.

The owl flew away, hooting ominously as it seemed to his strained
nerves, and the hooting was answered as from the very heart of the
dell, if dell it was, mingled with many other strange and fierce
sounds. Cuthbert rose to his feet and crept forward with a beating
heart, and as he did so he heard a shout of demoniacal laughter
which chilled the very blood in his veins, and seemed to raise the
hair upon his head, so unearthly was the sound.

But making the sign of the cross upon his brow, and striving to
keep his presence of mind and his courage unimpaired by ghostly
terrors, Cuthbert still pursued his way downwards into this dim,
strange place. He felt more and more certain that this was the
pixies' dell of which the verses spoke--the dell wherein some deed
of darkness had been committed that caused it to be shunned of all;
and it needed all his native stoutness of heart to enable him to
conquer his fears and pursue his way, as he reflected on the foul
murders that had been committed not far off, and wondered if indeed
the restless souls of those to whom Christian burial had been