"Then you shall; but, remember, if you get into danger, you must not
blame me."
"Blame you! No, I think I would hardly do that. Where am I to seek for
her?"
"Two miles from London beyond Newgate," said the mask. "There stand the
ruins of what was long ago a hunting-lodge, now a crumbling skeleton,
roofless and windowless, and said, by rumor, to be haunted. Perhaps you
have seen or heard of it?"
"I have seen it a hundred times," broke in Sir Norman. "Surely, you do
not mean to say she is there?"
"Go there, and you will see. Go there to-night, and lose no time--that
is, supposing you can procure a license."
"I have one already. I have a pass from the Lord Mayor to come and go
from the city when I please."
"Good! Then you'll go to-night."
"I will go. I might as well do that as anything else, I suppose; but it
is quite impossible," said Sir Norman, firmly, not to say obstinately,
"that she can be there."
"Very well you'll see. You had better go on horseback, if you desire to
be back in time to witness the illumination."
"I don't particularly desire to see the illumination, as I know of; but
I will ride, nevertheless. What am I to do when I get there?"
"You will enter the ruins, and go on till you discover a spiral
staircase leading to what was once the vaults. The flags of these vaults
are loose from age, and if you should desire to remove any of them, you
will probably not find it an impossibility."
"Why should I desire to remove them?" asked Sir Norman, who felt
dubious, and disappointed, and inclined to be dogmatical.
"Why, you may see a glimmering of light--hear strange noises; and if
you remove the stones, may possibly see strange sights. As I told you
before, it is rumored to be haunted, which is true enough, though not in
the way they suspect; and so the fools and the common herd stay away."
"And if I am discovered peeping like a rascally valet, what will be the
consequences?"
"Very unpleasant ones to you; but you need not be discovered if you take
care. Ah! Look there!"
She pointed to the river, and both her companions looked. A barge gayly
painted and gilded, with a light in prow and stern, came gliding up
among less pretentious craft, and stopped at the foot of a flight of
stairs leading to the bridge. It contained four persons--the oarsman,
two cavaliers sitting in the stern, and a lad in the rich livery of a
court-page in the act of springing out. Nothing very wonderful in all
this; and Sir Norman and Ormiston looked at her for an explanation.