CHAPTER IX
THE POLISH JEWESS
There was a silence of some minutes' duration. Lord Lashmore sat staring straight before him, his fists clenched upon his knees. Then:
"It was after death that the third baron developed—certain qualities?" inquired Dr. Cairn.
"There were six cases of death in the district within twelve months," replied Lashmore. "The gruesome cry of 'vampire' ran through the community. The fourth baron—son of Paul Dhoon—turned a deaf ear to these reports, until the mother of a child—a child who had died—traced a man, or the semblance of a man, to the gate of the Dhoon family vault. By night, secretly, the son of Paul Dhoon visited the vault, and found....
"The body, which despite twelve months in the tomb, looked as it had looked in life, was carried to the dungeon—in the Middle Ages a torture-room; no cry uttered there can reach the outer world—and was submitted to the ancient process for slaying a vampire. From that hour no supernatural visitant has troubled the district; but—"
"But," said Dr. Cairn quietly, "the strain came from Mirza, the sorceress. What of her?"
Lord Lashmore's eyes shone feverishly.
"How do you know that she was a sorceress?" he asked, hoarsely. "These are family secrets."