Aurilly rose, and, with a step light as a bird, went up the staircase. In five minutes he returned to his master.
"Well?" asked he.
"Well, monseigneur, if I may believe appearances, the house is devilishly picturesque."
"How so?"
"Peste! monseigneur; because one cannot get in to look."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that it is guarded by a dragon."
"What foolish joke is this?"
"Oh! monseigneur, it is unluckily not a foolish joke, but a sad truth. The treasure is on the first floor, in a room in which I can see light through the door."
"Well?"