"I have no masons."
"I will procure them."
"But iron, wood—in a word, all the articles necessary for such a building, how to procure them?"
"I will take it on myself."
"But it will cost me a tremendous sum," said the Count, pressingly, for fear was more and more overpowering him.
"Pooh!" the stranger said, carelessly, and thrusting out his lower lip in disdain, "less than nothing, a trifle."
"And how long will you require to finish my fortress as it stands on the parchment?"
"Wait," the other said, calculating on his fingers, and scratching his forehead like a man who is seeking the solution of a difficult problem; "it is about nine o'clock, I think?"
"About," the Count said, not at all understanding the stranger's meaning.
"Well! By sunrise all will be ready, and you can take possession of your new residence."