Dr. Hyder, notwithstanding various opinions of others, was in reality a mysterious and remarkable man; despite his thorough British education and extensive travels in foreign lands, was a believer in the tenets of a Hindoo sect called the Saktian Yogis, a believer of Mahadeva, whose spouse of a dual nature--spiritual and material principles in one--has three qualities: first, Dominion and Desire; second, Rectitude and Wisdom, with power to control senses; and third, Violence and Passion. The Doctor, moreover, was conversant with all the Hindoo mysticism and sciences, astronomy and magic. He was capable of restraining respiration, besides being a natural born hypnotist of great power. Modern practical medicine and surgery were also among the Doctor's accomplishments, as he had a seven year course in the National University of Medicine of London. His appearances in public began to diminish gradually after the various animals were received there, as he was engrossed in his laboratory, engaged in some experiment in vivisection! Indeed, in the dead of night, weird and uncanny sounds often emanated from the inner recesses of his laboratory. Sometimes a piteous mew, or the piercing caterwaul of felines, or the whining of dogs. At other times, the plaintive beating of a goat, the squeaking of a goose or the squeal of a pig broke the silence of the night, while at intervals, now and then, several owls on the roof gave vent to their weird hootings. This state of affairs naturally gave an awful aspect to the place, and kept the inquisitive villagers at a distance, while the mischievous youngsters gave the place no trouble from trespassing. The only incident which reached the public was told by a precocious youth who, with grim determination, strived to unravel the mysteries of the place, on a cloudy night had crawled into the garden, climbed a tree, and hidden himself until later on, when the full moon appeared above the horizon and cast its hazy light through the clouds. Then an uncanny sight was unfurled before his eyes; there, sitting under the shadow of a weeping willow tree, the Hindoo Doctor, apparently, was in the act of hypnotizing a goat, with weird gestures and incantations. Unnerved by this strange sight, the intruder, losing his grip and footing, fell to the ground. The hooting of an owl and a fiendish howl from the Doctor gave the youth a further impetus to scamper for life, over shrubberies and picket fence, out of the domain of the Hindoo vampire! Upon the youth's recital of his experience, the feeling of mystery and fear increased among the unsophisticated people of the neighborhood and they kept shy of the place. But the climax of their apprehension was reached when, shortly after, the following curious sign adorned the main gate to the house: DR. HYDER BEN RAABA VIVISECTIONIST AND RE-INCARNATOR