"Because the indistinct utterances I overheard did not sound at all like those coming from a Teutonic tongue."
"You caught sight of these parties at last, did you not?"
"Yes, sir; just before I went to bed I saw from my window the forms of two men issuing from the basement and prowling in the yard."
"Would you know those men again?"
"Good gracious! no, sir."
"Why not?"
"A heavy fog had settled in the neighborhood, making it impossible for me to obtain a clear view of them, or, indeed, of any objects forty feet away."
"When you found you couldn't make out who they were, what did you do?"
"I went to bed."
"A very wise proceeding, I must confess." Then abruptly: