"Only Mother Borton going down stairs," I thought, with a smile at my
fears.

There was nothing to be gained by sitting up, and the candle was past
its final inch. I felt that I could not sleep, but I would lie down on
the bed and rest my tired limbs, that I might refresh myself for the
demands of the day. I kicked off my boots, put my revolver under my
hand, and lay down.

Heedless of Mother Borton's warning I left the candle to burn to the
socket, and watched the flickering shadows chase each other over walls
and ceiling. The shadows grew larger and blacker, and took fantastic
shapes of men and beasts. And then with a confused impression of deadly
fear and of an effort to escape from peril, a blacker shadow swallowed
up all that had gone before, and carried me with it.




CHAPTER VIII

IN WHICH I MEET A FEW SURPRISES


I awoke with the sense of threatened danger strong in my mind. For a
moment I was unable to recall where I was, or on what errand I had
come. Then memory returned in a flood, and I sprang from the bed and
peered about me.

A dim light struggled in from the darkened window, but no cause for