e was the
work of your own household, and it served their purpose to make it as
ghost-like as possible. The situation had been created by your
over-caution, countess. Your women servants were not allowed to hold
communication with the opposite sex; they, therefore, found other
means to meet, and to give a cover to these illicit meetings they set
up an atmosphere of ghostly mystery, by which their goings-on were
well concealed. The conspiracy was perfectly carried out. If they had
conducted their sinful intercourse on any other lines you would have
long since discovered them. When the pastor told me that he and his
sacristan had escaped through the lattice door, I suspected that it
was through this door the men found their way into the vault, and that
the sacristan must be a participator in the plot, whatever it was.
Moreover, I calculated that the women must, of necessity, find their
way through the cellar passage, and that, therefore, they would
naturally leave every door in the house _open_, so that their return
might be conducted without any danger of awaking you by noise, such as
unlocking doors. The countenance, the coloring, the eyes of your
companion betray her; it is easy to see what she has been, and that,
moreover, she drinks. I knew to-day at dinner that she was a
hypocrite. She held forth against all alcoholic drinks; that settled
her with me. I had no doubt that I should find all the doors open, and
I did. In order to make no noise I came on foot to the garden door.
Countless footsteps in the fresh snow showed me that the company had
already assembled. From the open garden door the foot-prints led to
the lattice door, and thence to the vault. This door was put to. I
pushed it open and was in the passage. I went to the left, up the
steps to the cellar passage; the door was open. I could not count upon
finding every door open; it was exactly as I imagined. The only
difficulty lay in passing through your wardrobe-room, which has no
key, but a peculiarly constructed spring-lock. I felt certain that
your maids would borrow some of their mistress's silk dresses, and
therefore the spring-lock would be arranged so as not to betray by its
loud snap the return of the stolen garments to their proper place. On
looking closely I found this to be the case; the lock was kept in its
place by the insertion of a penknife, which could be easily withdrawn.
Therefore, countess, you have, night after night, slept in this castle