386 THE IMAGE OF WAR 



Once, twice more, was the sound repeated ; and I 

 now desire to place on record my asseveration that 

 at no time on that evening did I connect the sound 

 with anything supernatural. A candle was, as I 

 have said, burning, and it was therefore obvious 

 that there was nothing in the room. We exchanged 

 a few hasty conjectures. 



" Oh," I said, " 1 feel sure it's a Carnival joke. 

 The T s," mentioning a family whose acquaint- 

 ance we had made, " have carried a calf in through 

 the chateau.'^ 



Nevertheless, this explanation did not satisfy me. 

 However, after a consultation, we decided to ad- 

 vance upon the foe. My wife was to open the door 

 (which opened inwards, and would consequently cover 

 her as it fell back), while I confronted the opening 

 with a revolver in one hand and a candle in the 

 other. 



No sooner said than done. Nothing ! Nothing in 

 the lobby, nothing on the landing, nothing on the 

 stairs, and only the dogs sleeping peacefully in the 

 dining-room. I even opened the lobby window and 

 peered out on to the frozen road. Not a sound 

 broke the silence, the night was bitter cold, and a 

 myriad of stars twinkled in the sky. 



Utterly puzzled and considerably chilled, we re- 

 turned to bed, locking the door this time. We had 

 not been there one minute before the sound began 

 again, but so convinced was I that we were the vic- 

 tims of a hoax that we managed to disregard them 

 and to get to sleep ; and also for this reason we 

 were careful to say nothing about the matter the 

 next day, lest by so doing we should give satis- 

 faction to the authors of a practical joke. 



