Lord James began to groan and move uneasily, like one in the grip of nightmare.

Sholto listened yet more acutely.

Outside the house he could hear the soft pad-pad of wild animals.

Their pelts seemed almost to brush against the wooden walls behind his head with a rustle like that of corded silk.

Sholto felt nervously for his sword and cleared it instinctively of the coverture in which he was wrapped.