they had at last found the trail of the mystery; 'but it's no like
the smell o' rabbits. Jist luik i' the nuik there ahin' the door.'

'There's naething here,' responded Betty.

'Roon the en' o' that kist there. I s' luik into the press.'

As Betty rose from her search behind the chest and turned towards
her mistress, her eyes crossed the cavernous opening of the bed.
There, to her horror, she beheld a face like that of a galvanised
corpse staring at her from the darkness. Shargar was in a sitting
posture, paralysed with terror, waiting, like a fascinated bird,
till Mrs. Falconer and Betty should make the final spring upon him,
and do whatever was equivalent to devouring him upon the spot. He
had sat up to listen to the noise of their ascending footsteps, and
fear had so overmastered him, that he either could not, or forgot
that he could lie down and cover his head with some of the many
garments scattered around him.

'I didna say whusky, did I?' he kept repeating to himself, in utter
imbecility of fear.

'The Lord preserve 's!' exclaimed Betty, the moment she could speak;
for during the first few seconds, having caught the infection of
Shargar's expression, she stood equally paralysed. 'The Lord
preserve 's!' she repeated.

'Ance is eneuch,' said Mrs. Falconer, sharply, turning round to see
what the cause of Betty's ejaculation might be.