though spatulate and ugly, had been manicured, and of course very much over-manicured, for effect.  Had this not been the case, I probably should not have noticed them.  But the unnatural gloss on them, exaggerated by the candlelight, made me look, and I was at once impressed with the criminal formation of the fingers—­the club-shaped ends denoted something very bad—­something homicidal—­and as my eyes wandered from the hands to the face, I saw with a thrill of horror that the ears were set low down and far back on the head, and that the eyes gleamed with the sinister glitter of the wolf.

“Still, I must take my chance—­the woman or the wood—­it had to be one of the two.  ‘If you’ll step inside, monsieur,’ she said, ’I’ll see what can be done for you.  We have only recently come here, and the house is anyhow at present.  Still, if you don’t mind roughing it a little, we can let you have a bed, and you can rely upon me that it is clean and well-aired.’  I followed her eagerly, and she led me down a narrow passage into a big room with a low ceiling, traversed with a ponderous oak beam, blackened with the smoke of endless peat fires.

“Before the blazing faggots on the hearth sat a burly-looking individual in a blue blouse.  On our arrival he arose, and as his huge form towered above me, I thought I had never seen anyone quite so hideous, nor so utterly unlike the orthodox Frenchman.  Obeying his injunction—­for I can scarcely call it an invitation—­to sit down, I took a seat by the fire, and warming my half-frozen limbs, waited impatiently whilst the woman made up my bed and prepared supper.

“The storm had now reached cyclonic dimensions, and under its stupendous fury the whole house—­stoutly built though it was—­swayed on its foundations.  The howling of the wind in the rude, old-fashioned chimney and along the passage, and the frenzied beating of the snow against the diamond window-panes, deadened all other noises, and rendered any attempt at conversation absolutely abortive.  So I ate my meal in silence, pretending not to notice the subtle interchange of glances that constantly took place between the strangely assorted pair.  Whether they were husband and wife, what the man did for a living, were questions that continually occurred to me, and I found my eyes incessantly wandering to the numerous packing-cases, piles of carpets, casks and other articles, which corroborated the woman’s statement that they had but recently ‘moved in.’  Once I attempted to empty the coffee (which was black and peculiarly bitter) under the table, but had to desist, as I saw the man’s devilish eyes fixed searchingly on me.  I then pushed aside the cup, and on the woman asking if it was not to my liking, I shouted out that I was not in the least thirsty.  After this incident the covert looks became more numerous, and my suspicions increased accordingly.

“At the first opportunity I got up, and signalling my intention to go to bed, was preparing to leave my seat, when my host, walking to a cupboard, fetched out a bottle of cognac, and pouring out a tumbler, handed it me with a mien that I dare not refuse.