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CHAPTER XVIII.

RALPH MORETON IN DANGER OF ARREST�ATTACK ON THE ALSATIANS.

"PARDON be hanged!" cried the stout man; "I�m going to have a better look at you. I don�t like the cut of your jib at all. I�ve seen half-a-dozen better men than you strung up at Tyburn in a day. What! you won�t go�let me show you the way."

And so, finding that his companion did not assent to his persuasive hints to descend the stairs, he ran him down by the collar of his shirt, and then administered a kick which sent him flying through the door, right into the middle of the astonished Alsatians.

At the same moment the face of the stout man appeared in the doorway�a round, jolly face, now beaming with laughter.

"I have brought you a pigeon to pluck, my mates," he cried; "though, if his money be as scarce as the meat on his carcase, I am afraid we shall not get very fat on him."

The whole of the company now joined in a roar of merriment at the woe-begone appearance their forced guest, except one only.

This one, sitting by the fire-place, almost concealed by the shadow, started back in astonishment as he recognised, in the face of the wretched object of the stout man�s drollery, the ghastly features of the Reverend Obadiah Scramper.

Under no circumstances whatever could Ralph Moreton ever forget that face, and now, as his eyes took in the scene before him, he drew himself further into the gloom of the rude recess, that he might watch without being seen.

Old Fadge, who had been sitting half asleep over his pipe, now approached Obadiah, rubbing his hands, and smiling in a manner that brought his nose and his chin almost together.

"Vell, vell, the shentlemens are all very pleased to see you, and we vill drink your health my tear. Give me de monish, and I will fetch you whatever you like, beer or spirrets my tear, or anything you�d like. They are all goot poys here, they dhrink anything they can get."

"I have no money," said Obadiah.

The Jew lifted his forefinger with a pretence of playfulness.

"Fie! fie upon you," he said. "A shentlemans like you, and no monish. Poys, turn out his pockets, and show him he�s wrong. We all know he is choking."

Which, at this moment, was literally true, for while the Jew had been speaking, the stout man had seized Obadiah by the nape of the neck, and placed him on his back upon the table.

It was in this ignominious position that they proceeded to empty out his pockets, and they were in the midst of this somewhat useless occupation when the sound of footsteps was heard descending the stone steps.

"The door�the door!" cried Fadge; while Obadiah roared loudly�

"Help! help!"

A number of the readiest and strongest of the Alsatians at once dashed to the door, and, having shot its rusty bolts, they stood, hangers and knives in hand, ready for action.

A loud summons was now heard; a sharp rat-tat-tat.

"Who is there?" cried Fadge.

"The watch," said a voice in peremptory accents.

"What do you want?"

"Entrance."

"Then, my tears, you can�t come in. We are enjoying ourselves, and we don�t vant any row here."

"Open�in the King�s name, open, or we shall butter the door down."

"If there is anyone in particular you vant, say so," cried Fadge; "and we vill give him up."

At this moment Obadiah Scramper was about to utter a cry for help, but the sharp point of a knife was pressed against his throat, and he could only mutter vindictive curses against his enemies.

There was, meanwhile, a whispered conversation with the watch outside.

Then a voice said�

"We desire the person of one who has recently taken refuge here, one Ralph Moreton, who was brought here by one of your night prowlers, named Tom the Link Boy."

The Alsatians started, and glanced from one to the other.

Should they accede to this request?

Should they betray the one who had put faith in them?

Resistance meant broken heads, and worse, but what of that?

They were used to it, and anything was better than breaking the golden rules of their sanctuary.

"If you give him up, we�ll all desert you in a body," cried the stout man, addressing Fadge.

The old Jew looked a pitiable object.

He knew not which course to pursue.

To resist the watch was to compel himself to seek a new asylum.

To betray him was to lose all those on whom he depended for support.

At this juncture a gentle voice was heard saying�

"Keep them at bay, I will save him."

And as they glanced round they saw standing amongst them the lovely form of Bella.

A loud cheer rang out through the murky cellar.

"Come this way, Ralph," said the young girl, and she drew Ralph towards the door.

"Shall I be putting you in peril?" said Ralph, hesitatingly.

"No, no!" cried the young girl, eagerly. "There will be no danger for me. Come quickly, or the door will be broken in."

"You forget, this lean fellow here will split!" cried one of the Alsatians.

"True, we must dispose of him," said the stout man; "give him to me."

So saying, he dashed forward, and made a rush upon Obadiah, lifting him off the table as if he had been a child.

"One word, one cry," he said, "and I will dash your brains out against the wall."

And, having thus secured the silence of the terrified preacher, he ran through the door by which Bella and Ralph had made their way, and disappeared with his reluctant burden.

Proceeding as quickly as he could in the darkness, he arrived at length at the door of a cellar, and having thrust Scramper headlong into the gloom, he bolted him in, and left him.

Then he hurried back to the cellar, where old Fadge had opened the door, and was parleying with the constables.

"Vot is the reason," he cried, in a low and querulous voice, "vot is the reason that you do not let me alone? I gives no troubles. I always keeps my little lambs in order, and�"

"Peace, you old fool!" cried the leader of the watch; "we don�t want to interfere with you or your lambs either, what we want is a boy whom you have here, named Ralph Moreton, and who is accused of the murder of Sir Paxton Greaves."

The old Jew raised his hands with a pretence of virtuous indignation.

"Murderers!" he exclaimed. "Oh, we don�t have murderers here. All my peoples are here in the room; so you�re welcome to search the place. We�ve got few poys here�they don�t pay."

The constables cast a rapid glance round the room, and then commenced a search.

The stout man stood with two or three sturdy fellows near the inner door.

Their attitude was unmistakable.

If the constables got cantankerous they would show fight.

The search round was a mere farce, and was soon accomplished.

"Now, then, we must search the other part of the premises," said the leader of the watch.

"No, no; that would be too pad," said the Jew. "Poys, we must not have that."

"No," cried fifty sturdy voices, male and female, too.

The leader frowned sternly.

"Do you know what it is to resist the watch?" he cried.

"Yes�very well," said Fadge; "we have let you in, when we might have kept you out, and now you vant to go prying into private rooms. Oh, no! If you are searching for murderers, go and look where you will find them, don�t come to me."

The captain of the watch made a sign to his men, and in an instant the twenty who composed his band drew their hangers.

The sight of the weapons acted with a magical effect.

Lightning-like, arms of all kinds flashed in the hands of the Alsatians�knives, swords, hangers, were flourished, and even the poker and tongs were brandished in the hands of some infuriated women.

One or two of the occupants of the cellar rushed to the door, and, running up to the top of the steps, shouted, in loud-sounding tones�

"To the rescue! To the rescue! Alsatians to the rescue!"

And outside, where a number of the watch still remained, a deadly hand-to-hand struggle began.

"Do you intend to resist the watch?" said the leader, addressing old Fadge, who now discreetly kept in the background.

The old Jew gesticulated wildly.

"I don�t know what you mean," he said. "I have allowed you to enter and search my cellar, I can do no more. I call everyone to witness that I only refuse to let you into my private apartments."

"Force the door!" roared out the leader, and with a sudden rush the constables dashed towards it.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE ESCAPE.

MEANWHILE, Bella, on leading Ralph Moreton from the kitchen, led him quickly upstairs. Not a word was said as they ascended, though, in Ralph�s mind, a considerable doubt existed as to whether it was prudent to proceed to the top of a high house to escape the searchers.

However, as in his own person he was almost utterly helpless, he was content to abide by the wisdom of other people.

They stopped when they reached the top landing, and Bella opened the door of a room.

"This is my room," she said, "they will search that last, and when they do come I can show you the means of quitting the house without being seen by a human soul."

On entering the room she bolted the door, and turned up the lamp, which she had purposely left burning.

"See here," she said; and going to a cupboard she opened it, and showed to Ralph what appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary papered wall.

She then slid her hand quietly along the woodwork to the edge, and then pressed it.

In an instant the whole of the back of the cupboard sprang back and revealed a dark shaft, leading evidently to the lower part of the house.

"You can easily escape that way," she said, as she closed it again. "There is a rope ladder which takes you down into one of the cellars, from which you can creep along a narrow subway to the edge of the river."

"Will not my remaining put you in peril?" he asked. "Had not I better go now?"

She flushed slightly.

"If you wish it you can go," she said; "but you put me in no peril. All I am thinking of is your danger."

Ralph sat down beside her with a strange fluttering sensation at his heart.

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The beauty or this girl had, of course, not passed unnoticed.

The strange and exquisite loveliness of one brought up amid such surroundings could not, of course, be unobserved by anyone; but, until this instant, he had regarded Bella as the whole and sole property of Tom the Link Boy.

The tender voice she spoke in now, however, and the tender glance, too, she gave him, created a complete revolution in his mind.

It was evident to him now that all the little speeches and actions which he had before completely misunderstood were consequent on a change of feeling on her part, and though, perhaps, it was wrong of him, he yielded to the intoxication of the moment, and, taking her hand, looked up fondly into her face.

"Would you be very sorry, then, Bella, if any harm happened to me?" he said.

"I know well what would be the result, and, of course, I should be sorry," she said, avoiding his gaze, and feeling in her heart how very wrong all this was when poor Tom was away. "But hark! they are fighting now; the Alsatians have resisted, and there will be a terrible lot of blood shed. Oh! how I wish I were away from this."

"Why not make you escape?" said Ralph. "Why not seek some better and safer asylum?"

"I am awaiting the hour when I can escape with the friend who has done so much for me," she said, in a low voice. "This very night I expect the arrival of a lady who will take me away with her. Tom and she risked their lives for me the other night, and I must do all they tell me."

Ralph�s heart sank at these words, but he knew she was right.

"I hope and trust that you will soon escape," he said, and then, rising, he went to the door, opened it, and listened.

The sounds of strife could now be heard plainly from below.

The clang of steel, the shouts of struggling men, the shrieks of women, resounded dully through the old house for some time.

But presently there was a plainer and louder roar; a crashing of wood, and the sharp ring of steel, showed that the watch had broken through the door, and were preparing to fight their way upstairs.

"Close the door again," cried Bella, in trembling accents. "You must escape now. They will not be able to defend the staircase long. It was madness to do so at all."

The door was once more closed.

Only just in time.

For, as the young girl opened the secret panel, they could hear the scuffling and the noise of fighting approaching nearer and nearer.

"Farewell! and may Heaven bless you!" cried Ralph.

And then, influenced by a sudden feeling, which he found it impossible on the instant to conquer, he took her in his arms, and kissed her ardently on her lips.

Then, as she struggled from him with the words, "Foolish boy�good-bye!" he let himself down into the dark shaft, and was soon lost to view.

Bella at once closed the panel, shut to the cupboard, and, throwing herself on the bed, took up a book, and tried to compose herself by looking at its pages.

She was not allowed long for this operation.

The resistance of the Alsatians grew less and less, and presently she could hear the constables bursting open the doors of the rooms as they came on.

At length the expected summons came to the door of her chamber.

"Anyone in here? If so, open at once."

Bella sprang from the bed, and at once undid the fastenings, and in an instant the apartment was filled with armed men.

The leader stared in astonishment as his eyes fell upon Bella.

Well he might.

She was not the kind of flower which was expected to be found in such a garden.

"Search the room," he cried.

And then, turning to the young girl, he said�

"Pray what are you doing in such a place? It is no home for you."

"It suits me to a remain here awhile," she answered, haughtily.

"You are easily pleased, then, my ladybird," said he, as he glanced round the scantily-furnished room, and observed, too, her own wretched attire. "If I had such a face and form as you have, I�d wear silks and satins, and have a down bed to lie on."

Bella knew nothing of the ways of the world, but she guessed, from the man�s looks and manner, that what he said was an insult, and she accordingly turned her back upon him.

The men now had finished searching the room, and, having found nothing, were crowding once more out of the door.

As they did so, the captain crept up behind Bella, who still stood with her back towards him, and suddenly, ere she was aware of it, caught her round her waist, and, drawing her backwards, imprinted a kiss upon her lips.

The young girl shrieked, and struggled away, and, at the moment a figure came darting through the doorway, and, before he had time to make any resistance, the leader of the watch found himself sprawling on the floor.

A well-directed blow had caught him in the eye.

And the giver of the blow was Tom the Link Boy.

The man scrambled to his feet full of wrath; but, as he drew his sword, he hesitated as he saw who his adversary was.

If it had been a man who had thus summarily dealt out justice to him he would have known how to have acted.

But to be floored by a boy for having kissed; a young girl, who was evidently his sweetheart, and then to enter into any kind of combat with him, was hardly a thing of which he felt proud.

He contented himself, therefore, with looking very big and angry.

"You shall suffer for this, my young shaver," he said, in a bullying tone. "I�ve got my eye on you, I can tell you; for you have been seen consorting with this Ralph Moreton, of whom we are in search. So look out for squalls."

Tom merely grinned, and put his arm round Bella�s waist, while the disconfited captain stalked off.

"The great bully!" cried Bella. "I�m so glad you punished him."

"Yes; I�d serve anyone like that whom I caught kissing you," said Tom. "They�re all for me�ain�t they, Bella?"

The only answer she could make was to suffer him to take one, and bury her head on his shoulder.

She felt very guilty�very miserable�very much in fear and doubt.

But what could she do?

And could she�unsophisticated child of Nature as she was�be blamed for what she did?

CHAPTER XX.

RALPH HAS AN EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURE.

IT was rather an uncertain kind of safety for Ralph Moreton, gliding down, as he did, in utter darkness, and to a place of which he positively knew nothing.

But still, anything was better than remaining where he was, and being at the mercy of those who would swear his life away.

So he went as quickly as possible down the shaft, hand under hand, until be reached the bottom, where he found himself in what seemed, from the smell, to be a cellar, but which was, in reality, only a commencement of the subway

of which Bella had spoken.

But how was he even now to escape?

He had no light, not even a glimmer was to be seen anywhere, and there was no human possibility of obtaining any by artificial means.

He was debating inwardly thus, when a well- known voice struck upon his ear.

It was that of the Reverend Obadiah Scramper, and was shouting aloud�

"This way, this way!�verily, the villains have placed me in a dungeon, but the wicked shall be punished. Yes, verily, they shall be cut off from the land."

"The canting hypocrite," muttered Ralph, "I hope they won�t let him out, but keep him there all night, at any rate. I wonder where he is?"

Feeling along the wall towards the point where he could hear the voice, he fancied he saw in the distance a dim, uncertain light.

He hurried as well as he could in this direction, and he had the gratification of thus discovering that he had lighted upon the very subway of which Bella had spoken.

He hastened on eagerly now.

Hope was lighted in his breast.

And yet, what could he anticipate?

Compelled to abandon the asylum which Moonlight Tom had provided him with, wither was he to go?"

He had no friends�no money.

And, if he had, could be thus tear himself away from those who had saved him?

These thoughts came to him later, but at this moment he was only anxious to reach the fresh air. There he could think, and devise, perhaps some plans for the future.

He had to creep for some distance on a bed of ooze and slime before he reached the opening, which he discovered was concealed at high water, so that if the tide had not been down he would have had to wait for hours in the dark and noisome cellars.

He was now, however, enabled to pass out upon the soft, yielding bank; and, having done so, clambered into a boat, and, unfastening it from its mooring, began pulling with all his might towards old London Bridge.

It was at this moment that he began to feel the loneliness of his position�the hopelessness, the peril and misery of the life into which he had plunged.

He pressed on, however, until reaching one of the many narrow turnings which then led upwards to the city from the silent highway."

He drew his boat ashore, moored it, and then hurried up the street.

He had made up his mind what to do.

He would wait until there was something like quiet once more round at the den of old Fadge, then find Tom the Link Boy, and get him to help him to some employment.

He had fought against any such arrangement before, but now there was nothing for it but to go in for hard work, no matter how menial until he could hit upon some plan to prove his innocence, and dispossess those who had first robbed him of his property, and then hounded him down for a murder which they knew he had never committed.

He was walking slowly, his mind full of these things, and gloomy, too, with a kind of hopeless despair, when a sight met his eyes which seemed to freeze the very marrow in his bones, and caused him to stand still in utter wonder and horror.

The street in which he stood was one of the oldest and narrowest in London.

The houses seemed to nod to one another, and their bulgy windows protruded so greatly that they almost touched.

With these, and the flapping signs and the darkness, intersected in the centre by a broad streak of light, it looked some weird picture�something unreal and ghostly.

But it was not the street itself which caused the commotion in Ralph�s breast.

It was the sight which he saw in the centre of the place which roused him from his lethargy, and brought him to the very threshold of the other world.

Standing, with his arms folded, in the broad belt of moonlight, was a man.

He was tall, elegantly dressed, and of imposing and commanding presence.

His eyes were cast upwards, as though he were in a dream, and he stood motionless�erect as a statue.

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But it was not the fact of his appearing thus that blanched the cheek of Ralph Moreton, and sent the blood coursing in tumultuous floods to his heart.

It was that he knew and identified the form and features of the man.

They were those of Sir Paxton Greaves, his murdered patron.

What could it mean?

He had seen him last lying on a bed, with a fearful gash in his throat.

And now!

Was he mad?

Or was this an apparition of the same terrible and unusual character as he had met with at the old house at Croydon?

He closed his eyes for an instant, and gazed again.

The figure had moved, and, with slow and stately steps, advanced towards him.

What should he do?

Should he fly, or should he boldly confront the apparition, and ascertain the meaning of this terrible visitation?

He decided on the latter.

Clutching hold of the post which stood near him to steady himself, he waited, his heart beating wildly, his brain almost reeling.

Slowly the figure came�nearer and nearer�becoming less ghastly as it stood in the gloom instead of the bright light.

At length it stood close to him, and then plucking up courage, Ralph Moreton said, in eager, trembling accents�

"Sir Paxton, stop!"

The advancing figure stopped as if struck suddenly.

"What was that," he cried; "a familiar voice? Ralph, where are you?"

Ralph sprang forward.

Bewildered�overcome�maddened, he was truly�and yet he was certain of one thing.

The man before him was real flesh and blood.

"Here I am, Sir Paxton," he said, in a voice which still trembled; "but you have frightened me out of my life. I saw you lying dead�murdered�at the inn, and now�"

Sir Paxton laid a hand on his shoulder�a heavy, firm, living hand, from which, however, Ralph could not avoid shrinking.

"Ah, my boy," he said; "that is secret which you will know some day; but which I cannot now explain. Come with me, and we will have a talk over our experiences. I have much to tell you."

"Let us leave this neigbourhood quickly then," said Ralph; "for the constables are after me."

"You are like myself, then," said Sir Paxton; "you have been getting into trouble. Follow me, I know a way by which we may evade them."

"If you have no particular route to follow," said Ralph, "I have a boat at the bottom of the street, in which we can reach the other side of the river in safety."

"Very well," said Sir Paxton; "very well, lead on, for I, too, have no great wish to linger in this spot."

Ralph at once, under the influence of a hundred contending emotions, hurried on towards the riverside, where he had left the boat., and they were soon afloat on the dark and swift-flowing waters of the silent highway.

"Make for the other side, close by the bridge," said Sir Paxton Greaves. "There is a house upon the bridge which I know well, and where we can be safe, and in quiet. They are worthy people, but they have been betrayed into doing me an injustice since I have been believed dead, and consequently I shall not complain if I give them something of a startle."

They rowed on now in silence, until at length the stairs were reached, and, mooring the boat once more, the baronet and his page leaped ashore.

Sir Paxton glanced eagerly round, to see if anyone had noticed their arrival and landing, but discerning no one, he led the way in the direction of the Bridge Gate.

Passing through this gloomy portal, he hurried on until reaching an inn which stood, or rather tottered, by the side of the narrow roadway, he said�

"This is the place. The sign of the Blue Dragon. There are places here where a man might hide for ever."

If he had heard Ralph Moreton�s story be could not have so completely expressed his hope.

In fact, the lad was so utterly bewildered by the fact of seeing Sir Paxton Greaves alive and well, he could not shake off the feeling that he was still in danger, that the cause of concealment had vanished.

Sir Paxton Greaves advanced into the hostelry with slow and solemn steps.

As he entered the bar, where a number of people were assembled, the landlady gave one steady, long gaze at him, and then with a cry of amazement and fear staggered back.

Sir Paxton appearing not to notice this, held out his hand.

"Good evening to you, Mistress Molliver," he said. "I am glad to see you looking so well after my long absence."

His voice was strong and steady enough, but yet Mrs. Molliver looked doubtingly at his hand ere she tremblingly took it.

"I am glad to see you, indeed, Sir Paxton," she said, "but�the truth is that�"

"You thought me dead, Mrs. Molliver," said Sir Paxton, coldly, "but you see I am not. I am here, alive and well, and ready to settle accounts with all those who have proved themselves my enemies when they imagined me no more."

Mrs. Molliver turned pale at this.

She had not yet quite got over her fright, or the idea that perhaps Sir Paxton was walking the world again in mortal shape, to punish those who had used him ill.

"Well, I�m sure, Sir Paxton," she said with a simper, which resembled more a painful contortion of the face than a smile, "I�ve not got any accounts to settle with you."

"Eh? What�s that, eh?" growled a gruff voice at this moment. "If there�s any accounts to settle, let me settle �em. I always tell you�eh? What?�goodness, Providence, alive! Who�s that?"

And there the great fat, bullying landlord of the Blue Dragon stuck in the doorway of his room looking horrified at his guest, with a knife in one hand and a fork in the other.

"Well, you ought to know me well, Master Molliver," said Sir Paxton, "many a glass we�ve had together, down in our private room, as we were wont to call it. Come, let us adjourn thither now. I have need of some for I am thirsty; and I wish to speak of some special things to you."

Reassured by the sturdy voice of his guest, the landlord proceeded to take some keys from a hook, and, lamp in hand, he began to lead the way down the stairs

The room towards which the three were making their way was situated in one of the large arches of the bridge; and had a window barred across and across like that of a prison, which looked out upon the river.

It was a comfortable apartment, with cloth hangings on the walls to hide the unsightly bricks, and on the arched ceiling were many curious devices, and hung up here and there were rare and quaint pictures.

Master Robert Molliver rather prided himself upon this special room, and, indeed, no one but his most esteemed friends and guests were ever allowed to penetrate its sacred precincts.

He looked somewhat askance, consequently, as Ralph Moreton entered.

Sir Paxton perceived the look, and hastened to set him at ease.

"This is a young friend of mine," he said; "a very special friend. He knows all my secrets, at least, most of them, and can be safely trusted."

"I am glad to bear it, sir," said mine host. "But, pray, tell me how it is�"

"That I am alive?" laughed Sir Paxton; "just so. That is my secret, and for a time I mean to keep it. See here," he added, as he pointed out a red line on his neck. "When they cut my throat they did not quite cut my head off, and so, with just the spark of life left me, I�m back again. But come, let us drink. Fetch one of your special bottles of wine, and some eatables, too, for I am both hungry and thirsty."

It was not long before a goodly repast was spread on the table by the landlord, who, extremely superstitious, even in an age of superstition, was anxious to see his guest eat, before having too much to do with him.

Sir Paxton soon gave sure evidence of his mortal nature.

He set to with a right good will, and, seeing him do so, Molliver set to also, and the three made a splendid supper.

"Well," said the landlord, after awhile, as he beheld the inroads which his guests had made into the juicy joint before them. "I want no more convincing proof that you are real flesh and blood. But is it so great a secret? Cannot you give a hint as to how you escaped so horrible a death?"

Sir Paxton shook his head.

"No, no," he said; :"that is a secret which I decline to disclose to anyone at present. Let it suffice to those who are my friends that I am here in my proper person. Some day you shall understand all. But tell me�when did you see Sir Gerald Mortimer?"

"I have not seen him for full a mouth," replied Molliver; "but I believe he will come to-morrow."

"Have you beds to let?"

"Yes; two."

"Then I engage them. I will not quit your hostelry until I see him," rejoined Sir Paxton; "and how about the four others?"

"They all come in spite of your absence."

"Good! they will be surprised to see me," said the young baronet. "Let them not know anything of my coming. I would rather enter their presence unawares."

"Very good, sir," responded the host; "and when would you like to retire?"

"At once. Let your wife be told to keep a silent tongue, and be kind enough to remember that I should like in the morning to see a tailor."

"Your orders shall be obeyed," said Molliver. "Remain here one moment, while I procure the lamps, and then I will light you to your chamber."

As soon as he was gone, Sir Paxton drew Ralph quickly to the corner of the room, near the barred window.

"See here," he said, in a rapid whisper, "if aught befall you, there is here a mode of escape. To anyone who knows nothing of the place there is, of course, nothing more here than an ordinary casement, with bars running across it. But see this."

He glided his hand to one corner and turned aside a small piece of iron.

In an instant the framework dropped, and the bars, all in one, could be wheeled aside so as to give free access to the window.

Sir Paxton had scarcely time to replace it before Molliver entered.

He looked suspiciously, as Ralph thought, at both.

But Sir Paxton did not observe him in any way.

He was, to all appearance, studying one of the quaint pictures.

"This way, sir," cried Molliver; "the rooms are all ready."

Sir Paxton turned at once, and in a few minutes the baronet and his page were the occupants of two nicely-furnished bedrooms adjoining one another, and looking out over the river.

CHAPTER XXI.

A STRANGE VISITOR.

RALPH MORETON, as may be imagined, was delighted at the termination of his adventure. Of course, when Obadiah Scramper had entered the den at old

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Fadge�s, he had made up his mind to sleep in the watch-house; and more than that, when he escaped, through the medium of Bella, he had anticipated only a wretched night of wandering about the metropolis.

Now everything was once more couleur de rose.

He had recovered his brave and noble patron; he had escaped from the fangs of the wolfish enemy who was after him; and now was sleeping in an elegant apartment, on a soft bed, secure from all pursuit.

Lulled by such pleasant thoughts as these, it is not to be wondered at if Ralph soon went off into a pleasant and refreshing sleep.

But it did not last for long.

He was destined, in fact, to be the hero of another adventure that night.

It must have been about two in the morning when he was awakened by a loud scratching at the door of his room.

He sat up in bed and listened.

"Who is there?" he cried.

The noise at once ceased.

He waited for a few minutes, but, as it was discontinued, he soon settled himself once more to slumber.

But he was roused again before he had well closed his eyes.

The window of the room, as we have said, overlooked the river, and came down to the very floor of the chamber.

As he sprang up once more, at the repetition of a strange sound, he beheld at the casement a female form.

A hand was raised and was tapping gently on the glass.

"This is a strange mystery," he said, and then, leaping out of bed, he huddled on a few things, and, approaching the window, threw it open.

"Allow me to enter," said a trembling voice, and the figure stepped hastily into the room, and flung itself, as if exhausted, into a chair. "Draw the curtains for a moment, lest I am seen here."

Amazed as he was, Ralph nevertheless obeyed the behest of his mysterious visitant, and also lit his lamp.

Then he approached her, and glanced at her face, from which she had now thrown her veil.

He, of course, knew not the features.

They were those of the mysterious lady whom Tom had met with the old man as he was hurrying to the assistance of Bella�s friend, Lily.

Laura Grey.

Tom the Link Boy had told him of his adventure; but, of course, he could not, from his friend�s description, recognise her.

"Who are you, madam, and what can I assist you in?" he asked.

She was crying bitterly now, but Ralph could see how young and beautiful she was.

"Oh!" she said, "if you can assist me, do so, for the love of Heaven. I and my father are wandering to and fro upon this earth, pursued by a remorseless enemy. Only a few nights ago, near the Globe Theatre, I was hurrying along through the fog when my father fainted in the street. A lad kindly went for aid, but ere he returned I was compelled to drag the senseless form of my father to a place of concealment, for my enemy was close at hand."

Ralph interrupted her.

"Your name, then," he said, "is Laura Grey."

She started in amazement.

"How do you know that?" she cried.

"It was my friend�Tom the Link Boy�who ran to your assistance that night," said he. "But pray tell me how can I aid you?"

"Why," she answered, dropping her voice to a whisper, "I and my father have been hiding away from our enemies in this house ever since that night. Of course Molliver, the landlord, knows not who are our enemies, but he knows the value of money, and is willing to sell his guests to the highest bidder. There are in the house at this moment two of my father�s deadly foes."

"Who are they?" asked Ralph, eagerly.

He thought, perhaps, that there might be here some mystery in which Sir Paxton Greaves was mixed up.

"You know them not," said Laura Grey, "but I may as well tell you their names. The one is Titus Bartlett, the other Obadiah Scramper."

"Wonders will never cease," said Ralph, in astonishment; "this Scramper�false, treacherous knave that he is�is my worst and deadliest foe. Anything in the world I can do to aid you I will, especially when his machinations are to be outwitted. Pray explain what it is you desire."

"You see," said Laura, eagerly, "this Scramper has persuaded Molliver to bolt and bar the house, and so look it that no one can issue forth without rousing the inmates. If my father is found here in the morning all will be lost."

"Then you wish me to aid your escape?"

"I do."

"How am I to do it?" mused Ralph.

Then a sudden idea struck him.

He remembered the window in the room where they had supped. If he could but reach that chamber all would be well.

(To be continued.�Commenced in No. 78.)