“The match scraped on the box and flared up dully and in the same instant I heard a faint sound behind me.  I whipped ’round in a kind of mad terror and saw something in the light of the match—­a monstrous horse-head close to Beaumont.

“‘Look out, Beaumont!’ I shouted in a sort of scream.  ‘It’s behind you!’

“The match went out abruptly and instantly there came the huge bang of Parsket’s double-barrel (both barrels at once), fired evidently single-handed by Beaumont close to my ear, as it seemed.  I caught a momentary glimpse of the great head in the flash and of an enormous hoof amid the belch of fire and smoke seeming to be descending upon Beaumont.  In the same instant I fired three chambers of my revolver.  There was the sound of a dull blow and then that horrible, gobbling neigh broke out close to me.  I fired twice at the sound.  Immediately afterward something struck me and I was knocked backward.  I got on to my knees and shouted for help at the top of my voice.  I heard the women screaming behind the closed door of the bedroom and was dully aware that the door was being smashed from the inside, and directly afterward I knew that Beaumont was struggling with some hideous thing near to me.  For an instant I held back, stupidly, paralyzed with funk and then, blindly and in a sort of rigid chill of goose flesh I went to help him, shouting his name.  I can tell you, I was nearly sick with the naked fear I had on me.  There came a little, choking scream out of the darkness, and at that I jumped forward into the dark.  I gripped a vast, furry ear.  Then something struck me another great blow knocking me sick.  I hit back, weak and blind and gripped with my other hand at the incredible thing.  Abruptly I was dimly aware of a tremendous crash behind me and a great burst of light.  There were other lights in the passage and a noise of feet and shouting.  My hand-grips were torn from the thing they held; I shut my eyes stupidly and heard a loud yell above me and then a heavy blow, like a butcher chopping meat and then something fell upon me.

“I was helped to my knees by the Captain and the butler.  On the floor lay an enormous horse-head out of which protruded a man’s trunk and legs.  On the wrists were fixed great hoofs.  It was the monster.  The Captain cut something with the sword that he held in his hand and stooped and lifted off the mask, for that is what it was.  I saw the face then of the man who had worn it.  It was Parsket.  He had a bad wound across the forehead where the Captain’s sword had bit through the mask.  I looked bewilderedly from him to Beaumont, who was sitting up, leaning against the wall of the corridor.  Then I stared at Parsket again.

“‘By Jove!’ I said at last, and then I was quiet for I was so ashamed for the man.  You can understand, can’t you?  And he was opening his eyes.  And you know, I had grown so to like him.