His chains clattered as he rose, while he drew himself as far as they permitted from the quarter whence the voice appeared to proceed.

His fear in some degree communicated itself to Captain Dalgetty, who began to repeat, in a sort of polyglot gibberish, all the exorcisms he had ever heard of, without being able to remember more than a word or two of each.
"IN NOMINE DOMINI, as we said at Mareschal-College--SANTISSMA MADRE DI DIOS, as the Spaniard has it--ALLE GUTEN GEISTER LOBEN DEN HERRN, saith the blessed Psalmist, in Dr.Luther's translation--" "A truce with your exorcisms," said the voice they had heard before; "though I come strangely among you, I am mortal like yourselves, and my assistance may avail you in your present streight, if you are not too proud to be counselled." While the stranger thus spoke, he withdrew the shade of a dark lantern, by whose feeble light Dalgetty could only discern that the speaker who had thus mysteriously united himself to their company, and mixed in their conversation, was a tall man, dressed in a livery cloak of the Marquis.

His first glance was to his feet, but he saw neither the cloven foot which Scottish legends assign to the foul fiend, nor the horse's hoof by which he is distinguished in Germany.

His first enquiry was, how the stranger had come among them?
"For," said he, "the creak of these rusty bars would have been heard had the door been made patent; and if you passed through the keyhole, truly, sir, put what face you will on it, you are not fit to be enrolled in a regiment of living men." "I reserve my secret," answered the stranger, "until you shall merit the discovery by communicating to me some of yours.

It may be that I shall be moved to let you out where I myself came in." "It cannot be through the keyhole, then," said Captain Dalgetty, "for my corslet would stick in the passage, were it possible that my head-piece could get through.