"I don't know whether it is strange or not," said the groom, "but I tell you that I saw a light. You know we came back late with monsieur; and then I had to groom the horse, put away the carriage, and then eat my supper; so that it was very late when I went to bed. As the weather was fine and I didn't feel much like sleeping, I went to the window and happened to look at the tower opposite, which you call the North Tower."
"Where no one lives," said Cunette, "because monseigneur thought that it was in too bad condition, and that it wasn't worth while to have it done over new, as there's plenty of room in the château."
"Well, whether anyone lives there or not, I tell you that last night about eleven o'clock--or rather, it was pretty near midnight--I saw a light in one of the little windows up at the top."
"Mon Dieu!" said Jeannette; "midnight! That's the time for ghosts, ain't it, Mamzelle Cheval?"
"Nonsense!" said the cook; "do you suppose I believe in ghosts? All those stories are made up to frighten folks. It's more likely to be thieves who want to steal my chickens,--that is, if it was anything at all."
"What!" said François, approaching the other servants, "are there ghosts in this château, too?"
"Oh, no! Monsieur François; there's no question of ghosts," replied the groom, "it's just a light that I saw last night in the tower where no one sleeps."
"It was a reflection of the moon, that he took for a light," said Cunette; "I am the concierge, and I'll answer for it that no suspicious person came into the château."
"Pardi!" said Jeannette, "if it was a ghost, do they come in through the doors?"
"Observe," continued the concierge, "that Benoît says that the light was up high at that window; that's in the arsenal; what would any thieves go to the arsenal for, where there's nothing but old rusty swords?"
Vincent, who had not yet spoken, drew near at that moment with a mysterious air, and said:
"My children, all this reminds me of something I'd forgotten, which might have some connection with what Benoît saw."
All the servants crowded around Vincent and looked at him with interest.
"About five or six days ago," continued the gardener, "I don't know just when it was, but it was night, and I was going to bed; I remembered that I needed my big pickaxe the next morning to work in this part of the garden. You know that I keep most of my tools in a little shed at the end of the broad path on the left."