Little ceremony was shown him at his new resting-place, for no sooner had the outer doors of the prison closed upon him than he was rapidly dragged forward across the courtyard and thrust into a dimly-lighted, evil-smelling room, the very appearance of which, with its strongly-barred windows high up in the wall, and the massive studded door which was closed and double locked upon him almost before he had entered the room, struck a feeling of shrinking terror deeply into the prisoner’s heart.  He sank disconsolately down upon the cold stone bench just beside the door, and placing his elbows upon his knees, he propped his head up between his hands, and peering into the dimness bitterly bewailed his fate.

He was startled from the train of thought into which he had unconsciously fallen by hearing a sound not far from him.  He raised his head and rubbed his eyes, half expecting to be confronted by a spectral visitor; but not being able to distinguish anything in the deep gloom to which his eyes were not yet accustomed, he dismissed that theory, and ascribed the noise to the rats.

“Rats, ugh!” he exclaimed, and he lowered his head down again, feeling a trifle less dejected because of the trivial interruption which had for the moment excited him, and changed his dismal channel into which his thoughts had flown.

“Who says rats?” exclaimed a voice in tremulous tones, evidently from the corner of the room.

Edmund’s head was upraised in a moment.  His hair stood on end, for, as he hastily glanced around, his eye lighted upon a form enshrouded in white.  He was convinced that he was at last confronted by one of the ghostly fraternity, of whose existence he was a firm believer; and hastily springing from his seat, he retreated as far as he could in the opposite direction.

To his terror the figure rose up at the same time, and advancing towards him, frantically waving its arms, and repeating the words Edmund had just uttered.  He was in a frenzy of despair, and rushing to the door, as the spectre had come up to him, he had made an ineffectual effort to open it, and was busily engaged in kicking its stout timbers to attract the attention of the gaolers.

All this took but a moment, but it was a terrible time to Edmund, and he found himself, in spite of his efforts, completely nonplussed by the unearthly foe beside him.

“Rats, who says rats?” piped the figure again in its shrill, thin voice.  “Where are they?”

For answer Edmund turned round, and in his desperation lunged out with his foot towards his persecutor.  It struck something solid, and to Edmund’s intense relief the spectre limped away with a howl of pain just as the key turned in the lock outside.

A moment later the door swung slowly back upon its creaking hinges, admitting the gaoler, and, at the same time a flood of light, which disclosed to view the form of a haggard man writhing in pain upon the wooden bed, sparsely covered with straw, in the very corner of the room.