Krantz," they said in conclusion, "for you have been a most considerate landlord, but stay we cannot."' Here my friend paused. "'And have you no explanation of these hauntings?' I asked. "Krantz shook his head. 'No!' he said, 'the whole thing is a most profound mystery to me. At first I attributed it to practical jokers, people dressed up; but a couple of nights' vigil in the haunted district soon dissipated that theory.' "'You say district,' I remarked. 'Are the houses close together--in the same road or valley?' "'In a valley,' Krantz responded--'the Valley of Dolmen. It is ten miles from here.' "'Dolmen!' I murmured, 'why Dolmen?' "'Because,' Krantz explained, 'in the centre of the valley is a hill, on the top of which is a Druids' circle.' "'How far are the houses off the hill?' I queried. "'Various distances,' Krantz replied; 'one or two very close to the base of it, and others further away.' "'But within a radius of a few miles?' "Krantz nodded. 'Oh yes,' he answered. 'The valley itself is small. I intend taking you there to-night. I thought we would watch outside one of the houses.' "'If you don't mind,' I said, 'I would rather not. Anyway not to-night. Tell me how to get there and I will go alone.' "Krantz smiled. 'You are a strange creature, Trobas,' he said, 'the strangest in the world. I sometimes wonder if you are an elemental. At all events, you occupy a category all to yourself. Of course go alone, if you would rather. I shall be far happier here, and if you can find a satisfactory solution to the mystery and put an end to the hauntings, I shall be eternally grateful. When will you start, and what will you take with you?' "'If that clock of yours is right, Krantz,' I exclaimed, pointing to a gun-metal timepiece on the mantelshelf, 'in half an hour. As the night promises to be cold, let me have some strong brandy-and-water, a dozen oatmeal biscuits, a thick rug, and a lantern. Nothing else!' "Krantz carried out my instructions to the letter. His motor took me to Dolmen Valley, and at eight o'clock I began the ascent of the hill. On reaching the summit, I uttered an exclamation. 'Someone has been excavating, and quite recently!' "It was precisely what I had anticipated. Some weeks previously, a member of the Lyons literary club, to which I belong, had informed me that a party of geologist friends of his had been visiting the cromlechs of Brittany, and had committed the most barbarous depredations there. Hence, the moment Krantz mentioned the 'Druidical circle,' I associated the spot with the visit of the geologists; and knowing only too well that disturbances of ancient burial grounds almost always lead to occult manifestations, I decided to view the place at once. "That I had not erred in my associations was now only too apparent. Abominable depredations HAD been committed,--doubtless, by the people to whom I have alluded--and, unless I was grossly mistaken, herein lay the clue to the hauntings.