For a moment I hesitated, but the light of the lantern he held above his head fell on his features, and I recognised, to my great joy, the soldierly features of Sergeant Lawson.
At the same time the darting rays fell on my face, and with a stifled cry of terror and amazement the soldier turned to flee.
"Stand firm, sergeant," I exclaimed, "I am no ghost."
Thereupon he returned, almost overthrowing me in his delight.
"Mind my arm, sergeant," said I, laughing, for he had not perceived that it was in a sling. "Fie on you! One moment you run from me, and the next you would push me into the moat."
I was instantly surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic retainers and servants, and directly I was in the gateway the drawbridge was drawn up. A man ran to convey the news to my father, and before long I was welcomed home not only by my parents, but also by Colonel Firestone and Ralph Granville.
In spite of the lateness of the hour, we remained talking, questioning and cross-questioning, while I attacked a hearty supper with great spirit, being well-nigh famished.
It appeared that directly my absence was noticed a strong body of troopers, led by Firestone and Ralph, and accompanied by a skilled Cornish tracker, had gone out to search for me. They traced my horse's footsteps when it had turned from the highway, and had followed it to the cromlech. Here they found one of Firestone's pistols and saw drops of blood and a number of diverging tracks, so that they concluded I had been waylaid, robbed, and murdered.
Upon the disbandment of the army in Cornwall Colonel Firestone resolved to ride to Ashley to break the news, and Granville, now that his father was killed and himself made homeless, agreed to accompany him, so that everyone thought I was dead, and hence honest Sergeant Lawson's terror at what he took to be a supernatural appearance.
For my part, I told them briefly of my adventures, and when I narrated how I had shot down the treacherous Captain Chaloner, I saw my father's face visibly brighten. Yet it seemed strange that the search party had not found the caitiff's body, and that fact gave me some misgivings, although I argued that some of the captain's friends must have removed and buried his corpse.