That something untoward should happen on this the first night of his charge was too disastrous.

He drew his sword and set in his lips the silver call which depended from the chain of office the Earl had thrown about his neck when he made him captain of his guard.
His feet hardly touched the stone stairs as he flew downwards, and wings were added to his haste by the sounds of fear which continued to increase.

In another moment he was upon the last step of the turnpike and at the entrance of the corridor which led to the rooms of the little Lady Margaret and Maud Lindesay.
As Sholto came rushing down the steep descent from the roof he caught sight of a dark and shaggy beast running on all fours just turning out of the corridor, and taking the first step of the descent towards the floor beneath.

Without pausing to consider, Sholto lunged forward with all his might, and his sword struck the fugitive quadruped behind the shoulder.

He had time to see in the pale bluish flicker of the _cruisie_ lamp that the beast he had wounded was of a dark colour, and that its head seemed immensely too large for its body.
Nevertheless, the thing did not fall, but ran on and vanished out of Sholto's sight.