"As if it were possible to resuscitate a man! It is a demon, I tell you, who assumed the shape of the Colonel, to rob us of our money!"
"What can demons do with money?"
"Build cathedrals, to be sure!"
"But how is the devil to be recognized when he is disguised?"
"First by his cloven-foot—but this one has boots on; next by his clipped ear."
"Bah! And why?"
"Because the devil's ears are pointed, and, in order to make them round, he has to cut them."
Meiser stuck his head under the table and uttered a cry of horror.
"It's certainly the devil!" said he. "But how did he happen to let himself go to sleep?"
"Perhaps you did not know that when I came back from the cellar, I dropped into my chamber? I put a drop of holy water into the Port; charm against charm, and he is fallen."