For, after all, after all, after all, there is no one here except you and me, and, if the notes disappear and neither you nor I have anything to do with it, well, we shall have to believe in the ghost...in the ghost.'

At that moment, the clock on the mantlepiece gave its warning click and the first stroke of twelve struck.

The two managers shuddered. The perspiration streamed from their foreheads. The twelfth stroke sounded strangely in their ears.

When the clock stopped, they gave a sigh and rose from their chairs.

`I think we can go now,' said Moncharmin.

`I think so,' Richard a agreed.

`Before we go, do you mind if I look in your pocket?'

`But, of course, Moncharmin, you must!...Well?' he asked, as Moncharmin was feeling at the pocket.

`Well, I can feel the pin.'

`Of course, as you said, we can't be robbed without noticing it.'

But Moncharmin, whose hands were still fumbling, bellowed:

`I can feel the pin, but I can't feel the notes!'

`Come, no joking, Moncharmin!...This isn't the time for it.'

`Well, feel for yourseIf.'

Richard tore off his coat. The two managers turned the pocket inside out. The pocket was empty. And the curious thing was that the pin remained, stuck in the same place.

Richard and Moncharmin turned pale. There was no longer any doubt about the witchcraft.

`The ghost!' muttered Moncharmin.

But Richard suddenly sprang upon his partner.

`No one but you has touched my pocket! Give me back my twenty-thousand francs!...Give me back my twenty-thousand francs!...'

`On my soul,' sighed Moncharmin, who was ready to swoon, `on my soul, I swear that I haven't got it!'

Then somebody knocked at the door. Moncharmin opened it automatically, seemed hardly to recognize Mercier, his business-manager, exchanged a few words with him, without knowing what he was saying and, with an unconscious movement, put the safety-pin, for which he had no further use, into the hands of his bewildered subordinate....


  By PanEris using Melati.

Previous chapter/page Back Home Email this Search Discuss Bookmark Next chapter
Copyright: All texts on Bibliomania are © Bibliomania.com Ltd, and may not be reproduced in any form without our written permission. See our FAQ for more details.