"Well?" said the stranger, breathlessly, "and then?"

"And then, as I couldn't tell them they went in to see for
themselves, and shortly after came out with a body wrapped in a
sheet, which they put in a pest-cart going by, and had it buried,
I suppose, with the rest in the plague-pit."

The stranger fairly staggered back, and caught at a pillar near
for support. For nearly ten minutes, he stood perfectly
motionless, and then, without a word, started up and walked
rapidly away. The friends looked after him curiously till he was
out of eight.

"So she is not there," said Ormiston; "and our mysterious friend
in the cloak is as much at a loss as we are ourselves. Where
shall we go next - to La Masque or the peat-house?"

"To La Masque - I hate the idea of the pest-house!"

"She may be there, nevertheless; and under present circumstances,
it is the beat place for her."

"Don't talk of it!" said Sir Norman, impatiently. "I do not and
will not believe she is there! If the sorceress shows her to me
in the caldron again, I verily believe I shall jump in head
foremost."

"And I verily believe we will not find La Masque at home. She
wanders through the streets at all hours, but particularly
affects the night."