The foot of this stair was, strangely enough, one of the only two points in the defence of the moat not absolutely commanded from either one or the other of the two gates of the castle.

The top of the stair, however, was visible from one extreme point over the western gate, and the moment Richard, finding the small thick iron-studded door open, put his head out of the bastion, he caught sight of a warder far away, against the moonlit sky.

All of the castle except the spot where that man stood, was hidden by the near bulk of the keep.

He drew back, and sat down on the top of the stair--to think and let the water run from his clothes.

When he issued, it was again on all-fours.