seven round holes, bored in the form of a cross in the
leaden plates which covered the window of the belvedere, sparkled like
so many luminous points, as if some one in the house ascended with a
light to the roof.

CHAPTER XVIII. DEBIT AND CREDIT.

For some seconds, Samuel and Bathsheba remained motionless, with their
eyes fixed in fear and uneasiness on the seven luminous points,
which shone through the darkness of the night from the summit of the
belvedere; while, on the horizon, behind the house, a pale, rosy hue
announced the dawn of day.

Samuel was the first to break silence, and he said to his wife, as he
drew his hand across his brow: "The grief caused by the remembrance of
our poor child has prevented us from reflecting that, after all, there
should be nothing to alarm us in what we see."

"How so, Samuel?"

"My father always told me that he, and my grandfather before him, had
seen such lights at long intervals."

"Yes, Samuel--but without being able, any more than ourselves, to
explain the cause."

"Like my father and grandfather, we can only suppose that some secret
passage gives admittance to persons who, like us, have some mysterious
duty to fulfil in this dwelling. Besides, my father warned me not to be
uneasy at these appearances, foretold by him, and now visible for the
second time in thirty years."

"No matter for that, Samuel, it does strike one as if it was something
supernatural."

"The days of miracles are over." said the Jew, shaking his head
sorrowfully: "many of the old houses in this quarter have subterraneous
communications with distant places--some extending even to the Seine and
the Catacombs. Doubtless, this house is so situated, and the persons who
make these rare visits enter by some such means."

"But that the belvedere should be thus lighted up?"

"According to the plan of the building, you know that the belvedere
forms a kind of skylight to the apartment called the Great Hall of
Mourning, situated on the upper story. As it is completely dark, in
consequence of the closing of all the windows, they must use a light to
visit this Hall of Mourning--a room which is said to contain some very
strange and gloomy things," added the Jew, with a shudder.

Bathsheba, as well as her husband, gazed attentively on the seven
luminous points, which diminished in brightness as the daylight
gradually increased.

"As you say, Samuel, the mystery may be thus explained," resumed the