night I had a nightmare, and I felt so
exhausted and depressed this morning that, if I had not been afraid of
offending my uncle, I should have postponed this disagreeable visit. As
we entered the place, I felt a chill come over me; there seemed to be a
weight on my chest, and I could not breathe. Probably, too, the pungent
smoke that filled the room disturbed my brain. Again, after all the
hardships and dangers of our terrible voyage, from which we have hardly
recovered, either of us, is it astonishing that my nerves gave way at
the first painful emotion?"

"Tell me," replied Marcasse, who was still pondering the matter, "did
you notice Blaireau at the moment? What did Blaireau do?"

"I thought I saw Blaireau rush at the phantom at the moment when it
disappeared; but I suppose I dreamt that like the rest."

"Hum!" said the sergeant. "When I entered, Blaireau was wildly excited.
He kept coming to you, sniffing, whining in his way, running to the
bed, scratching the wall, coming to me, running to you. Strange, that!
Astonishing, captain, astonishing, that!"

After a silence of a few moments:

"Devil don't return!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "Dead never
return; besides, why dead, John? Not dead! Still two Mauprats! Who
knows? Where the devil? Dead don't return; and my master--mad? Never.
Ill? No."

After this colloquy the sergeant went and fetched a light, drew his
faithful sword from the scabbard, whistled Blaireau, and bravely seized
the rope which served as a balustrade for the staircase, requesting me
to remain below. Great as was my repugnance to entering the room again,
I did not hesitate to follow Marcasse, in spite of his recommendation.
Our first care was to examine the bed; but while we had been talking in
the courtyard the servant had brought clean sheets, had made the bed,
and was now smoothing the blankets.

"Who has been sleeping there?" asked Marcasse, with his usual caution.

"Nobody," she replied, "except M. le Chevalier or M. l'Abbe Aubert, in
the days when they used to come."

"But yesterday, or to-day, I mean?" said Marcasse.

"Oh! yesterday and to-day, nobody, sir; for it is quite two years since
M. le Chevalier came here; and as for M. l'Abbe, he never sleeps here,
now that he comes alone. He arrives in the morning, has lunch with us,
and goes back in the evening."

"But the bed was disarranged," said Marcasse, looking at her
attentively.

"Oh, well! that may be, sir," she replie