"That's an experiment, now, I'll be bound," said the doctor, "to
ascertain if any one is here; let us hide ourselves, and take no
notice." The ring in a few moments was repeated, and the three confederates hid
themselves effectually behind some thick laurel bushes and awaited with
expectation what might next ensue. Not long had they occupied their place of concealment, before they heard
a heavy fall upon the gravelled pathway, immediately within the gate, as
if some one had clambered to the top from the outside, and then jumped
down. That this was the case the sound of footsteps soon convinced them, and
to their surprise as well as satisfaction, they saw through the
interstices of the laurel bush behind which they were concealed, no less
a personage that Sir Francis Varney himself. "It is Varney," said Henry. "Yes, yes," whispered the doctor. "Let him be, do not move for any
consideration, for the first time let him do just what he likes." "D--n the fellow!" said the admiral; "there are some points about him
that like, after all, and he's quite an angel compared to that rascal
Marchdale." "He is,--he saved Charles." "He did, and not if I know it shall any harm come to him, unless he were
terribly to provoke it by becoming himself the assailant." "How sad he looks!" "Hush! he comes nearer; it is not safe to talk. Look at him." CHAPTER LXXVII. VARNEY IN THE GARDEN.--THE COMMUNICATION OF DR. CHILLINGWORTH TO THE
ADMIRAL AND HENRY. [Illustration]

Kind reader, it was indeed Varney who had clambered over the garden
wall, and thus made his way into the garden of Bannerworth Hall; and
what filled those who looked at him with the most surprise was, that he
did not seem in any particular way to make a secret of his presence, but
walked on with an air of boldness which either arose from a feeling of
absolute impunity, from his thinking there was no one there, or from an
audacity which none but he could have compassed. As for the little party that was there assembled, and who looked upon
him, they seemed thunderstricken by his presence; and Henry, probably,
as well as the admiral, would have burst out into some sudden
exclamation, had they not been restrained by Dr. Chillingworth, who,
suspecting that they might in some way give an alarm, hastened to speak
first, saying in a whisper,--

"For Heaven's sake, be still, fortune, you see, favours us most
strangely. Leave Varney alone. You have no other mode whatever of
discovering what he really wants at Bannerworth Hall." "I am glad you have spoken," said Henry, as he drew a long breath. "If
you had not, I feel convinced that in another moment I should have
rushed forward and confronted this man who has been the very bane of my
life." "And so should I," said the admiral; "although I protest against any
harm being done to him, on account of some sort of good feeling that he
has displayed, after all, in releasing Charles from that dungeon in
which Marchdale has perished." "At the moment," said Henry, "I had forgotten that; but I will own that
his conduct has been tinctured by a strange and wild kind of generosity
at times, which would seem to bespeak, at the bottom of his heart, some
good feelings, the impulses of which were only quenched by
circumstances." "That is my firm impression of him, I can assure you," said Dr.
Chillingworth. They watched Varney now from the leafy covert in which they were
situated, and, indeed, had they been less effectually concealed, it did
not seem likely that the much dreaded vampyre would have perceived them;
for not only did he make no effort at concealment himself, but he took
no pains to see if any one was watching him in his progress to the
house. His footsteps were more rapid than they usually were, and there was
altogether an air and manner about him, as if he were moved to some
purpose which of itself was sufficiently important to submerge in its
consequences all ordinary risks and all ordinary cautions. He tried several windows of the house along that terrace of which we
have more than once had occasion to speak, before he found one that
opened; but at length he did succeed, and stepped at once into the Hall,
leaving those, who now for some moments in silence had regarded his
movements, to lose themselves in a fearful sea of conjecture as to what
could possibly be his object. "At all events," said the admiral, "I'm glad we are here. If the vampyre
should have a fight with that other fellow, that we heard doing such a
lot of carpentering work in the house, we ought, I think, to see fair
play." "I, for one," said the doctor, "would not like to stand by and see the
vampyre murdered; but I am inclined to think he is a good match for any
mortal opponent." "You may depend he is," said Henry. "But how long, doctor, do you purpose that we should wait here in such a
state of suspense as to what is going on within the house?" "I hope not long; but that something will occur to make us have food for
action. Hark! what is that?" There was a loud crash within the building, as of broken glass. It
sounded as if some window had been completely dashed in; but although
they looked carefully over the front of the building, they could see no
evidences of such a thing having happened, and were compelled,
consequently, to come to the opinion that Varney and the other man must
have met in one of the back rooms, and that the crash of glass had
arisen from some personal conflict in which they had engaged. "I cannot stand this," said Henry. "Nay, nay," said the doctor; "be still, and I will tell you something,
than which there can be no more fitting time than this to reveal it." "Refers it to the vampyre?" "It does--it does." "Be brief, then; I am in an agony of impatience." "It is a circumstance concerning which I can be brief; for, horrible as
it is, I have no wish to dress it in any adventitious colours. Sir
Francis Varney, although under another name, is an old acquaintance of
mine." "Acquaintance!" said Henry. "Why, you don't mean to say you are a vampyre?" said the admiral; "or
that he has ever visited you?" "No; but I knew him. From the first moment that I looked upon him in
this neighbourhood, I thought I knew him; but the circumstance which
induced me to think so was of so terrific a character, that I made some
efforts to chase it from my mind. It has, however, grown upon me day by
day, and, lately, I have had proof sufficient to convince me of his
identity with one whom I first saw under most singular circumstances of
romance." "Say on,--you are agitated." "I am, indeed. This revelation has several times, within the last few
days, trembled on my lips, but now you shall have it; because you ought
to know all that it is possible for me to tell you of him who has caused
you so serious an amount of disturbance." "You awaken, doctor," said Henry, "all my interest." "And mine, too," remarked the admiral. "What can it be all about? and
where, doctor, did you first see this Varney the vampyre?" "In his coffin."