Suddenly a hideous cry, so terrifying that it caused the blood to freeze in our veins, echoed through the silence of the night. Accustomed though we were to scenes of bloodshed and violence, this weird outburst, the concentrated expression of mortal agony, held us spellbound. Drake was the first to recover himself, and, springing to his feet with a shout, he drew his sword and dashed across the open space of grass, while we followed close at his heels. Stopping but for a moment to possess himself of the lantern, he made his way in the direction from which the sound had come. Something compelled him to halt, and we stopped too. At our feet flowed the stream, its weed-encumbered waters looking black and forbidding in the dim light of the lantern, as with silent eddies it swirled between the steep rush-lined banks. "Aubrey, that man is beyond your vengeance; a Higher Power has claimed him," exclaimed Greville, pointing with his weapon at a dark object that, arrested by a dense growth of weeds, floated in the centre of the stream. It was the hat of the doomed man, but not a bubble marked the spot where he had sunk. In the presence of Death, that great leveller of rank and persons, we removed our hats and stood in silence, our eyes riveted on the spot under which the remains of my mortal enemy lay hidden from our view. Then, extinguishing the lantern, we made our way through the wood, regained the road, and returned to the inn. CHAPTER XXI--Our Search for the Treasure The excitement of the previous night banished sleep from our eyes, and rising betimes we formed our plans for the day’s work. Now that Joyce had gone to his last account there was no longer need for caution or concealment of our plans, and to the utmost astonishment of the crafty host of the Wentworth Inn, I was presented to him as the rightful lord of Holwick. We thereupon breakfasted, and then made our way to the castle grounds. Viewed by daylight the whole scene was changed. The grey old tower, blackened by powder and fire, was so badly damaged as to be useless as a place of abode, little tendrils of ivy already serving to clothe the ruin with a kindly garb. The stream that looked so black in the darkness now glittered in the warm sunlight, as if unmindful of the tragedy that had been enacted but a few hours before. A careful search amid the dense masses of weed failed to give any clue to the mysterious disappearance of the double-dyed villain, so we concluded that his body must have escaped the tenacious grip of the thick vegetable growth. On all sides rose little mounds of excavated earth, showing how vigorously Joyce had pursued his quest for the hidden treasure, each mound being thirty-two paces from the wall. "Now, Aubrey, let’s to work," exclaimed Felgate, throwing off his cloak and vest and rolling up his sleeves in a manner that showed his enthusiasm.