They remained intently looking for a few seconds when the phenomenon was repeated. A large bird became suddenly visible for an instant out of the darkness and then disappeared.
“Now are you satisfied, my good friend?” Galabin asked.
“Perfectly. And the light——?”
“Must come from a skylight. There is a room below there. And if a room, why not a concealed window? though how contrived in that thick stone wall, I cannot tell. At the same time that is to me less interesting than to discover what the room is used for, who inhabits it, since it clearly is inhabited.”
“If we could only get up there and look down,” Von Tressen said. “But it hardly seems possible, at least from this point.”
“No,” his friend agreed. “Our only chance will be to scale the wall at some place farther along if we can find one practicable, and so make our way to where the light shines.”
“Come,” Von Tressen said; “let us set about finding a likely place. Who knows what discovery may be in store for us? It is an altogether unjustifiable liberty we are taking with our friend the Count’s domestic arrangements, but State service must over-ride that consideration.”
“You may take my word for that,” Galabin replied. “The Chancellor would blame us if, having seen this much, we were to neglect to find the explanation. In these secret services the authority cannot give explicit instructions; nearly everything must be left to one’s own discretion and enterprise.”
Cautiously they crossed the disused moat, and began a close inspection of the walls in search of a place where a climb might be feasible. They had not proceeded far when Von Tressen turned and held up his hand with a warning gesture.
“Hist! I thought I heard something,” he said under his breath. “It sounded like a man’s footstep in the wood.”