Despite the full and free consent which Flora had given to her brothers to entrust her solely to the care of her mother and her own courage at thehall, she felt greater fear creep over her after they were gone than shechose to acknowledge.

A sort of presentiment appeared to come over her that some evil wasabout to occur, and more than once she caught herself almost in the act ofsaying, --

"I wish they had not gone."

Mrs. Bannerworth, too, could not be supposed to be entirely destitute ofuncomfortable feelings, when she came to consider how poor a guard she wasover her beautiful child, and how much terror might even deprive of thelittle power she had, should the dreadful visiter again make his appearance.

"But it is but for two hours," thought Flora, "and two hours will soonpass away."

There was, too, another feeling which gave her some degree of confidence,although it arose from a bad source, inasmuch as it was one which showedpowerfully how much her mind was dwelling on the particulars of the horriblebelief in the class of supernatural beings, one of whom she believed hadvisited her.

That consideration was this. The two hours of absence from the hall ofits male inhabitants, would be from nine o'clock until eleven, and those werenot the two hours during which she felt that she would be most timid onaccount of the vampyre.

"It was after midnight before," she thought, "when it came, and perhapsit may not be able to come earlier. It may not have the power, until thattime, to make its hideous visits, and, therefore, I will believe myself safe."

She had made up her mind not to go to bed until the return of her brothers, and she and her mother sat in a small room that was used as abreakfast-room, and which had a latticed window that opened on to the lawn.

This window had in the inside strong oaken shutters, which had beenfastened as securely as their construction would admit of some time before thedeparture of the brothers and Mr. Marchdale on that melancholy expedition, theobject of which, if it had been known to her, would have added so much to theterrors of poor Flora.

It was not even guessed at, however remotely, so that she had not the additional affliction of thinking, that while she was sitting there, a prey toall sorts of imaginative terrors, they were perhaps gathering fresh evidence,as, indeed, they were, of the dreadful reality of the appearance which, butfor the collateral circumstances attendant upon its coming and its going, shewould fain have persuaded herself was but the vision of a dream.

It was before nine that the brothers started, but in her own mind Floragave them to eleven, and when she heard ten o'clock sound from a clock whichstood in the hall, she felt pleased to think that in another hour they wouldsurely be at home.

"My dear," said her mother, "you look more like yourself, now."

"Do I, mother?"

"Yes, you are well again."

"Ah, if I could forget --"

"Time, dear Flora, will enable you to do so, and all the rest of whatmade you so unwell will pass away. You will soon forget it all."

"I will hope to do so."

"Be assured that, some day or another, something will occur, as Henrysays, to explain all that has happened, in some way consistent with reason andthe ordinary nature of things, my dear Flora."

"Oh, I will cling to such a belief; I will get Henry, upon whose judgmentI know I can rely, to tell me so, and each time that I hear such words fromhis lips, I will contrive to dismiss some portion of the terror which now, Icannot but confess, clings to my heart."

Flora laid her hand upon her mothers's arm, and in a low, anxious toneof voice, said, -- "Listen, mother."

Mrs. Bannerworth turned pale, as she said, -- "Listen to what, dear?"

"Within these last ten minutes," said Flora, "I have thought three orfour times that I heard a slight noise without. Nay, mother, do not tremble-- it may be only fancy."

Flora herself trembled, and was of a death-like paleness; once or twiceshe passed her hand across her brow, and altogether she presented a picture ofmuch mental suffering.

They now conversed in anxious whispers, and almost all they saidconsisted in anxious wishes for the return of the brothers and Mr. Marchdale.

"You will be happier and more assured, my dear, with some company," saidMrs. Bannerworth. "Shall I ring for the servants, and let them remain in theroom with us, until they who are our best safeguards next to Heaven return?"

"Hush -- hush -- hush, mother!"

"What do you hear?"

"I thought -- I heard a faint sound."

"I heard nothing, dear."

"Listen again, mother. Surely I could not be deceived so often. I havenow, at least, six times heard a sound as if some one was outside by thewindows."

"No, no, my darling, do not think; your imagination is active and in astate of excitement."

"It is, and yet --"

"Believe me, it deceives you."

"I hope to Heaven it does!"

There was a pause of some minutes' duration, and then Mrs. Bannerworthagain urged slightly the calling of some of the servants, for she thought thattheir presence might have the effect of giving a different direction to herchild's thoughts; but Flora saw her place her hand upon the bell, and shesaid, --

"No, mother, no -- not yet, not yet. Perhaps I am deceived."

Mrs. Bannerworth upon this sat down, but no sooner had she done so thanshe heartily regretted she had not rung the bell, for, before another wordcould be spoken, there came too perceptibly upon their ears for there to beany mistake at all about it, a strange scratching noise upon the windowoutside.

A faint cry came from Flora's lips, as she exclaimed, in a voice of greatagony, --

"Oh, God! -- oh, God! It has come again!"

Mrs. Bannerworth became faint, and unable to move or speak at all; shecould only sit like one paralysed, and unable to do more than listen to andsee what was going on.

The scratching noise continued for a few seconds, and then altogetherceased. Perhaps, under ordinary circumstances, such a sound outside thewindow would have scarcely afforded food for comment at all, or, if it had, itwould have been attributed to some natural effect, or to the exertions of somebird or animal to obtain admittance to the house.

But there had occurred now enough in that family to make any little soundof wonderful importance, and these things which before would have passedcompletely unheeded, at all events without creating much alarm, were nowinvested with a fearful interest.

When the scratching noise ceased, Flora spoke in a low, anxious whisper,as she said, --

"Mother, you heard it then?"

Mrs. Bannerworth tried to speak, but she could not; and then suddenly,with a loud clash, the bar, which on the inside appeared to fasten theshutters strongly, fell as if by some invisible agency, and the shutters now,but for the intervention of the window, could be easily pushed open fromwithout.

Mrs. Bannerworth covered her face with her hands, and, after rocking toand fro for a moment, she fell off her chair, having fainted with the excessof terror that came over her.

For about the space of time in which a fast speaker could count twelve,Flora thought her reason was leaving her, but it did not. She found herself recovering; and there she sat, with her eyes fixed upon the window, looking more like some exquisitely-chiselled statue of despair than a being of fleshand blood, expecting each moment to have its eyes blasted by some horribleappearance, such as might be supposed to drive her to madness.

And now again came the strange knocking or scratching against the pane ofglass of the window.

This continued for some minutes, during which it appeared likewise toFlora that some confusion was going on at another part of the house, for shefancied she heard voices and the banging of doors.

It seemed to her as if she must have sat looking at the shutters of thatwindow a long time before she saw them shake, and then one wide hinged portionof them slowly opened.

Once again horror appeared to be on the point of producing madness in herbrain, and then, as before, a feeling of calmness rapidly ensued.

She was able to see plainly that something was by the window, but what itwas she could not plainly discern, in consequence of the lights she had in theroom. A few moments, however, sufficed to settle that mystery, for the windowwas opened and a figure stood before her.

One glance, one terrified glance, in which her whole soul wasconcentrated, sufficed to shew her who and what the figure was. There was atall, gaunt form -- there was the faded ancient apparel -- the lustrousmetallic-looking eyes -- its half-opened mouth, exhibiting tusk-like teeth! It was -- yes, it was -- _the vampyre!_

It stood for a moment gazing at her, and then in the hideous way it hadattempted before to speak, it apparently endeavoured to utter some words whichit could not make articulate to human ears. The pistols lay before Flora. Mechanically she raised one, and pointed it at the figure. It advanced astep, and then she pulled the trigger.

A stunning report followed. There was a loud cry of pain, and thevampyre fled. The smoke and confusion that was incidental to the spotprevented her from seeing if the figure walked or ran away. She thought heheard a crashing sound among the plants outside the window, as if it hadfallen, but she didnot feel quite sure.

It was no effort of any reflection, but a purely mechanical movement,that made her raise the other pistol, and discharge that likewise in thedirection the vampyre had taken. Then casting the weapon away, she rose, andmade a frantic rush from the room. She opened the door, and was dashing out,when she found herself caught in the circling arms of some one who either hadbeen there waiting, or who had just at that moment got there.

The thought that it was the vampyre, who by some mysterious means had gotthere, and was about to make her his prey, now overcame her completely, andshe sunk into a state of utter insensibility on the moment.