“Dr. Tully is an anthropologist at the college in Ashland,” I said quickly. “He’s making a study of old local families.”

“Then he and Duff ought to get together.”

“I should very much like to meet Duff,” Dr. Tully said.

“Some other time. He’s in school now.”

“He ought to be home soon,” Jack said.

“Not for a couple of hours possibly. And Dr. Tully probably can’t stay that long.”

“Oh, I have plenty of time,” Dr. Tully assured us. “I have no more classes today and since I’m a bachelor with no family ties, it doesn’t matter how long I stay.”

It matters to me, I thought. I didn’t want him asking a lot of questions and possibly upsetting Duff. I was sorry I had ever let Father Jackson get me involved with him.

I took him upstairs, mainly to get him away from Jack, and showed him the bedrooms.

“Marvelous,” he said. “This house is supposed to resemble Libby Prison, you know.”

“Yes, I’ve been told that.”

“But have you been told why?”

“I’ve read part of a journal that mentions it was at Libby Prison that General Caine first took up the practice of Satanism.”

“A journal kept by the General? I should very much like to see that.”

“I’m not sure it’s in the General’s own hand. And I don’t know where the book is right now.”

“If you find it—”

“Of course.”

We were standing in my room and Dr. Tully said, “I imagine this was the General’s bedroom.”

“Why?”

“Well it’s the larger of the two bedrooms on this floor. The two downstairs bedrooms are much smaller and were probably conceived as servants’ rooms, although possibly never put to that use. Yes, I’d say he slept in this room and in that bed, and died there too, probably.”

“What happened to him?”

“There is a legend that he was poisoned by his mistress.” Dr. Tully rubbed his head. “I think I’ve mentioned her—Margaret Dorn. Apparently she was a local siren, a widow who was also suspected of having murdered her husband. He had a farm somewhere on this road, I think. Margaret is said to have been a member of the circle of worshipers, and after her husband was out of the way, she took up with the General. He may have been involved in the death of Margaret’s husband too. This was a year or so after his wife died and he sent his children away. Margaret evidently moved in here, which so incensed some of the more respectable local citizens that they burned down her house and barns. Then later she and the General seemingly had a falling out. Anyway, it was suspected that he did away with her.”

“I thought you said she poisoned him.”