"Go! Go and see, child, what it is!" She pointed to the door, but, before Anne could reach it, she raised her hand for silence.

"They are crossing the ditch," she muttered, her eyes dilated.

"One, two, many, many of them! Many of them! They are throwing down hurdles, and wattles, and crossing on them! And there is a priest with them----" "Mother!" "A priest!" Her voice dropped a little.

"The ladders are black," she whispered.

"Black ladders! Ay, swathed in black cloth; and now they set them against the wall.