The sheriff stooped and picked up the rattling chain.
Then he went into the house and slammed the door.
The evening and the morning were the third day, and—
FOURTH TALE
PRINCESS OR PERCHERON
BY PERLEY POORE SHEEHAN
I.
SOME queer things had taken place in this same hall—some very queer things; but there were indications that this present affair was going to be queerer yet.
The old duke always had been a worthy descendant of his ancestors; like them, a little mad, with flashes of genius, very fine, very brutal, a murderer at heart, with a love for poetry and philosophic speculation.
The guests were already in a smiling tremor of curiosity when they arrived. Some of them whispered among themselves: