“Often, when I was a boy; never since.”
“Well, the sport was quite new to me, and as a natural consequence I got separated from the dogs and darkies, and got lost in the woods.”
“A good beginning for an adventure,” said the nameless gentleman.
“Yes. Well, to resume—while I was trying to find a path, I saw a bright, indeed a brilliant light, shining through the trees at some distance. I went towards it, and found a beautiful cottage ornée, with its front windows splendidly illuminated.
“There was a party,” said one of the guests.
“No; though as it was now between two and three o’clock in the morning, on seeing the lighted windows I was struck with the same thought. They are having a blow out in there, I said to myself. But it was nothing of the kind, my friends!”
“What was it, then?” inquired Dick, anxiously.
“Wait till I tell you. I pushed on towards the house, and when I came up to it, I saw no carriages, no servants, no life, no motion. Everything was as still as death. In fact, the whole house was closed up except the two brilliantly illumined windows, from which the light streamed far across the lawn, and deep into the woods.”
“Go on! go on!” said Reding’s companions, speaking in a chorus. And the captain, who had only paused to take a drink, continued:
“‘Well,’ I said to myself, ‘this is rum go, anyway!’ And after walking around and around the pretty place, without seeing or hearing anything, I just climbed up to the window-sill and peeped through the lighted window.”