fancies the garden is full of ghosts.
You are too big now, Martha, to think that statues, which are made of
stone, can come to life, and walk about.' The child was shuddering.

"'The other times, mamma,' she said, 'I was not quite sure; but this
time I am sure. I wanted to go away from the window, and I could not do
it. It was too strong for me: so that I saw it all, saw it perfectly. I
saw the statue, the ghost, come up the avenue slowly and cautiously, and
then place itself behind the last tree, the one that is nearest to the
parlor window. Then I heard a loud cry, then nothing more. The ghost
remained all the time behind the tree, and I saw all it did: it turned
to the left and the right; it drew itself up; and it crouched down.
Then, all of a sudden, two terrible cries; but, O mamma, such cries!
Then the ghost raised one arm, this way, and all of a sudden it
was gone; but almost the same moment another one came out, and then
disappeared, too.'"

M. Folgat was utterly overcome with amazement.

"Oh, these ghosts!" he said.

"You suspect them, do you? I suspected them at once. Still I pretended
to turn Martha's whole story into a joke, and tried to explain to her
how the darkness made us liable to have all kinds of optical illusions;
so that when I left, and a servant was sent with a candle to light me on
my way, the countess was quite sure that I had no suspicion. I had none;
but I had more than that. As soon as I entered the garden, therefore, I
dropped a piece of money which I had kept in my hand for the purpose. Of
course I set to work looking for it at the foot of the tree nearest to
the parlor-window, while the servant helped with his candle. Well, M.
Folgat, I can assure you that it was not a ghost that had been walking
about under the trees; and, if the footmarks which I found there were
made by a statue, that statue must have enormous feet, and wear huge
iron-shod shoes."

The young advocate was prepared for this. He said,--

"There is no doubt: the scene had a witness."

XXX.

"What scene? What witness? That is what I wanted to hear from you, and
why I was waiting so impatiently for you," said Dr. Seignebos to M.
Folgat. "I have seen and stated the results: now it is for you to give
me the cause."

Nevertheless, he did not seem to be in the least surprised by what the
young advocate told him of Jacques's desperate enterprise, and of the
tragic result. As soon as he had heard it all, he exclaim