I drew a deep breath. 'Is that all?' I said.
He eyed me curiously. 'To be sure,' he said. 'What did you think it was?'
'I feared that there might be something wrong at my lady's,' I said, beginning to get my breath again. 'I left her alone at sunset. And when I saw this crowd before the house I--I could almost have cut off my hand. Thank God, I was mistaken!'
He looked at me again and seemed to reflect a moment. Then he said, 'You have not found the young woman you were seeking?'
I shook my head.
'Well, it occurred to me afterwards--but at which window did you see her?'
'At a window on the first floor; the farthest from the door,' I answered.
'The second from the door end of the house?' he asked.
'No, the third.'
He nodded with an air of quiet triumph. 'Just so!' he said. 'I thought so afterwards. But the fact is, my friend, my house ends with the second gable. The third gable-end does not belong to it, though doubtless it once did.'