sieur de Pepicot and his
portmanteau were gone. It occurred to me now, as I washed and dressed,
that when he spoke of my departing by night he intended to make just
such an unceremonious exit himself. In that case, I inferred, he had
thought it only fair, as I had helped him to get into the chateau, that
he should offer to help me to get out, for he had made no secret of his
fears that we might find opposition to our doing so. But, if he had
indeed fled, how had he contrived to get out in the middle of the night?
As for his purpose in getting in, he must have accomplished that while
on his midnight perambulations.

I went downstairs, but he was not in the hall, nor on the terrace nor in
the court-yard. It was a fine morning, and I was for walking about. At
one side of the court-yard the wall was pierced by a narrow gateway,
which took me into a second court-yard, of which one of the further
angles was filled by a quadrant of the great tower that rose toward
heaven from a corner of the main chateau. There was a small door from
this court-yard to the tower. This tower, for its bigness and height,
took my eyes the first moment, but the next they were attracted by the
living figures in the court-yard. These were Captain Ferragant and a
pack of great hounds which he was marshalling before him, throwing a
piece of meat now to one, now to another, calling out by name which
animal was to catch. He indeed managed to keep them in some sort of
order and from closing around him, and though they all barked and leaped
at each throw, yet only the one whose name was called would dare
actually to close jaws upon the titbit. This went on for some time,
until at last one huge brute, leaping higher, seized the meat intended
for another.

The red Captain swore a fierce oath, and, grasping a whip, called the
interloping dog to come to him. The animal slunk back. The Captain
advanced among the pack, still calling the hound in the most threatening
voice. But the hound slunk further, growling and showing his teeth. The
Captain sprang forward and brought down his whip. The dog, mutinous,
made a snap at the Captain. The latter, now deeply enraged, threw aside
the whip, caught the animal by the neck, lifted it high, and, with a
swift contraction of his fingers, caused its eyes and tongue to protrude
and its body to writhe and hang powerless. He then flung the dead
creature to a corner of the yard, and looked at me with a smile half
vaunting, hal