"The old family retainer, with some agitation, confessed the ghostly secret, on account of which he was in a fair way of becoming a ghost himself.
"The parson was an enlightened man, and was determined to convince the superst.i.tious old fellow that he was mistaken, so he went down into the vault himself to look at this alleged marvel.
"There, then, the two skulls were, turned back to back, and the old servant solemnly swore that the evening before he had placed them cheek by jowl.
""Impossible," said the clergyman. "A lifeless body has no volition.
These things are nothing but two pieces of bone, without nerves, without muscles: they _cannot_ move of their own accord."
"And, to make his words the more impressive, he seized one of the skulls in order to lift it, and show the doubter that it was merely an inert ma.s.s, incapable of movement.
"At that very instant the skull gave the clergyman"s little finger such a nip that he could scarce disengage it from its teeth.
"After that the vault remained closed, and soon afterwards the old family servant died. As for the clergyman, he carried about with him till his death the mark of the bite on his little finger.
"The matter was kept secret, and so well kept indeed, that not a soul knew a word about it until I came into possession of the property. One day, while I was rummaging about in the old library, I came across the diary of the clergyman in question, in which he described the whole case, concluding his mysterious tale with the a.s.surance that the door of the vault had been walled up in such and such a place. Since then a granary had been built up close beside it, and the locality had been completely forgotten.
"I immediately searched for the walled-up door. It was easy to discover, it had been so minutely described, broke it open and descended into it myself, and at once discovered the two hostile skulls, just as they had been placed, turned back to back.
"I confess, despite my naturally cynical disposition of mind, I had not the courage to lift up either of them; but I had the whole slab of stone on which they reposed, raised just as it was and placed in this room.
"Since then I have had many an unbelieving guest who has taken the whole thing for a joke, and has tried to convince himself of its reality with his own eyes. Although I don"t very much like jesting with this sort of thing, nevertheless when I really come upon a strong-minded man who is not afraid of running the risk of becoming melancholy mad for the rest of his days, I allow him to sleep in this room and persuade himself with his own eyes that the skulls which have been placed face to face in the evening, the next morning are found to be turned back to back again.
"This takes place regularly. My visitors are constrained to believe in this mysterious fact, and since the death of the clergyman already alluded to, none has dared to ridicule it."
Squire Gabriel could perceive from my eyes that I also had a great mind to be convinced of this mysterious circ.u.mstance with my own eyes. Show me the youth of two and twenty who would not be interested in such an enigma!
I begged and prayed him to allow me to sleep in this room, and turn the skulls face to face.
Squire Gabriel did not attempt to dissuade me. My curiosity gratified him, he lifted the globular gla.s.s, very cautiously turned the two death"s heads face to face, and then covered them again with the gla.s.s.
Then he indicated the alcove where I should find my couch, wished me a good night, and left me alone.
The squire and his secretaries lived alone in the top-floor of the s.p.a.cious castle. The servants slept in rooms on the ground floor.
Between the Gothic room and their dormitories lay two or three halls of various sizes, so that I may be said to have been left alone in my wing, and was as far as possible from every human being.
Despite my excited fancy I had still philosophy enough left not to let any one play pranks with me. First of all I examined the walls; there was no visible means of entrance into the room. Then I thoroughly investigated the niche; it was absolutely inaccessible. It was carved out of a single slab of hard marble, and was all of a piece. The door I bolted, and then drew the sofa before it and lay down on it. I was now immediately opposite the curtained niche.
Moreover I took an additional precaution. The silk curtain which covered the niche was. .h.i.tched upon some ornamental moulding, and hung down in picturesque folds. I took out my pocket-book and made a sketch of the curtain down to the very last detail.
Now, that was a very artful idea of mine.
If any being, clothed with a jacket, were to try to get at the skulls, he was bound to disturb the curtain; but the slightest contact would disturb its folds, and destroy its resemblance to the drawing of it in my pocket-book.
Then I piled some fresh logs on the fire, placed the candelabra beside me on a little one-legged table, and flung myself on the sofa with the firm purpose not to go to sleep.
I knew that tea had the property of keeping a man awake, so I filled myself another cup. I added to it a spoonful of rum. I hardly tasted it.
Yet at other times a spoonful of rum would have been quite enough to upset me. I poured in still more. Even that did not make it stronger.
Then it suddenly occurred to me that there was a flask of cognac in the cupboard beside the fireplace. Squire Gabriel had pointed it out to me a short time before, but then I had not required it. It was very curious I should feel the want of strong drinks just at that moment.
I got up to fetch it. I tasted it. It certainly was strong, very much so. I filled up my cup with it, and then it occurred to me that there was no wire screen in front of the fire. A spark might pop out of it any moment. I went to the fireplace straightway, and began pushing back the burning embers with the poker. A spark popped out and burnt my hand.
Then I shut the iron register, and went back towards my tea-table.
A nice surprise awaited me.
On the very sofa which I had drawn up for my own use two gentlemen were sitting whom I seemed to know very well, but whose names I could not remember. One of them had short, light, curly hair, and an angry red beard; the other had black hair and a long dangling moustache, but was otherwise clean shaved, and a round bald patch was visible on the top of his head.
The first of these gentlemen, who was stripped to the shirt, wore a silken vest with gold b.u.t.tons; the other was dressed in a short linen jacket, bravely embroidered at the back.
These two gentlemen were sipping at their ease the cognaced tea which I had prepared for myself. First one took a sip and then the other, the pair of them out of one cup, quite fraternally.
Amazement first, and then fear, seized me. I durst not approach them, but sat down in a dark corner, from whence I watched to see what they would do.
The two gentlemen glared oddly enough at each other, and presently they began to converse.
"Good evening, Kalmanffy minor!"
"Good evening, Kalmanffy major!"
"Then you"re here again, Kalmanffy minor?"
"And here I remain, Kalmanffy major!"
"This castle is too strait for the two of us."
"There would be lots of room if one of us dwelt beneath it."
"Beneath it? I suppose you mean in the cellar?"
"No, deeper still; in the family vault."
"We must settle this business once for all, Kalmanffy minor."
"Yes, and now that we are quite alone is the time, Kalmanffy major?"
"Do you prefer pistols or swords?"
"I should like both; but I fear they might betray us."
"True, firearms make a noise, and cold steel makes blood to flow; we want no such witnesses."
"A cup of poison, and drawing lots for it--that would be best."
"Not bad; but it leaves corpse-marks on the face."
"I"ve a better plan. Here is strong drink before us; let us drink each other down."
"And then?"