"Depend upon me." "Very well," said Henry; "you may depend we will wait here until you
come back." The doctor at once hurried from the garden, leaving Henry and the
admiral to amuse themselves as best they might, with conjectures as to
what he was really about, until his return. CHAPTER LXII. THE MYSTERIOUS MEETING IN THE RUIN AGAIN.--THE VAMPYRE'S ATTACK UPON THE
CONSTABLE. [Illustration]

It is now necessary that we return once more to that mysterious ruin, in
the intricacies of which Varney, when pursued by the mob, had succeeded
in finding a refuge which defied all the exertions which were made for
his discovery. Our readers must be well aware, that, connected with that
ruin, are some secrets of great importance to our story; and we will
now, at the solemn hour of midnight, take another glance at what is
doing within its recesses. At that solemn hour it is not probable that any one would seek that
gloomy place from choice. Some lover of the picturesque certainly might
visit it; but such was not the inciting cause of the pilgrimage with
those who were soon to stand within its gloomy precincts. Other motives dictated their presence in that spot--motives of rapine;
peradventure of murder itself. As the neighbouring clocks sounded the hour of twelve, and the faint
strokes were borne gently on the wind to that isolated ruin, there might
have been seen a tall man standing by the porch of what had once been a
large doorway to some portion of the ruin. His form was enveloped in a large cloak, which was of such ample
material that he seemed well able to wrap it several times around him,
and then leave a considerable portion of it floating idly in the gentle
wind. He stood as still, as calm, and as motionless as a statue, for a
considerable time, before any degree of impatience began to show itself. Then he took from his pocket a large antique watch, the white face of
which just enabled him to see what the time was, and, in a voice which
had in it some amount of petulance and anger, he said,--

"Not come yet, and nearly half an hour beyond the time! What can have
detained him? This is, indeed, trifling with the most important moments
of a man's existence." Even as he spoke, he heard, from some distance off, the sound of a
short, quick footstep. He bent forwards to listen, and then, in a tone
of satisfaction, he said,--

"He comes--he comes!" But he who thus waited for some confederate among these dim and old grey
ruins, advanced not a step to meet him. On the contrary, such seemed the
amount of cold-blooded caution which he possessed, that the nearer the
man--who was evidently advancing--got to the place, the further back did
he who had preceded him shrink into the shadow of the dim and crumbling
walls, which had, for some years now past, seemed to bend to the passing
blast, and to be on the point of yielding to the destroying hand of
time. And yet, surely he needed not have been so cautious. Who was likely, at
such an hour as that, to come to the ruins, but one who sought it by
appointment? And, moreover, the manner of the advancing man should have been quite
sufficient to convince him who waited, that so much caution was
unnecessary; but it was a part and parcel of his nature. About three minutes more sufficed to bring the second man to the ruin,
and he, at once, and fearlessly, plunged into its recesses. "Who comes?" said the first man, in a deep, hollow voice. "He whom you expect," was the reply. "Good," he said, and at once he now emerged from his hiding-place, and
they stood together in the nearly total darkness with which the place
was enshrouded; for the night was a cloudy one, and there appeared not a
star in the heavens, to shed its faint light upon the scene below. For a few moments they were both silent, for he who had last arrived had
evidently made great exertions to reach the spot, and was breathing
laboriously, while he who was there first appeared, from some natural
taciturnity of character, to decline opening the conversation. At length the second comer spoke, saying,--

"I have made some exertion to get here to my time, and yet I am beyond
it, as you are no doubt aware." "Yes, yes." "Well, such would not have been the case; but yet, I stayed to bring you
some news of importance." "Indeed!" "It is so. This place, which we have, now for some time had as a quiet
and perfectly eligible one of meeting, is about to be invaded by one of
those restless, troublesome spirits, who are never happy but when they
are contriving something to the annoyance of others who do not interfere
with them." "Explain yourself more fully." "I will. At a tavern in the town, there has happened some strange scenes
of violence, in consequence of the general excitement into which the
common people have been thrown upon the dreadful subject of vampyres." "Well." "The consequence is, that numerous arrests have taken place, and the
places of confinement for offenders against the laws are now full of
those whose heated and angry imaginations have induced them to take
violent steps to discover the reality or the falsehood of rumours which
so much affected them, their wives, and their families, that they feared
to lie down to their night's repose." The other laughed a short, hollow, restless sort of laugh, which had not
one particle of real mirth in it. "Go on--go on," he said. "What did they do?" "Immense excesses have been committed; but what made me, first of all,
stay beyond my time, was that I overheard a man declare his intentions
this night, from twelve till the morning, and for some nights to come,
to hold watch and ward for the vampyre." "Indeed!" "Yes. He did but stay, at the earnest solicitation of his comrades, to
take yet another glass, ere he came upon his expedition." "He must be met. The idiot! what business is it of his?" "There are always people who will make everything their business,
whether it be so or not." "There are. Let us retire further into the recesses of the ruin, and
there consider as well what is to be done regarding more important
affairs, as with this rash intruder here." They both walked for some twenty paces, or so, right into the ruin, and
then he who had been there first, said, suddenly, to his companion,--

"I am annoyed, although the feeling reaches no further than annoyance,
for I have a natural love of mischief, to think that my reputation has
spread so widely, and made so much noise." "Your reputation as a vampyre, Sir Francis Varney, you mean?" "Yes; but there is no occasion for you to utter my name aloud, even here
where we are alone together." "It came out unawares." "Unawares! Can it be possible that you have so little command over
yourself as to allow a name to come from your lips unawares?" "Sometimes." "I am surprised." "Well, it cannot be helped. What do you now propose to do?" "Nay, you are my privy councillor. Have you no deep-laid, artful project
in hand?