in the chamber, he arose and examined every thing with
the utmost attention. In vain, he found not a trace of his nightly
visiters. Having thus paid dearly for his experience, he hastened to
leave this unquiet lodging, with the sincere resolve of never more
passing a night in the haunted chamber.

As soon as the family met at breakfast, and the Junker had given an
account of their fruitless expedition, the lady of the house put to him
the very natural question, How he had slept after so much fatigue?

"Quite well," was the answer.

The Froeken smiled. "I think you slept in the tower-chamber," said she.

The Junker acknowledged he had; but, being desirous of concealing his
fright from his intended, he deemed it advisable flatly to deny his
nocturnal acquaintances, while the young lady seemed equally bent on
extorting a confession from him. She assured him that she could see by
his eyes he had not slept, and that he looked uncommonly pale; but he
declared the ill-famed chamber to have acquired its character unjustly,
and added, she might very safely sleep there herself if she only had the
courage.

"I think," said she, laughing, "that I shall one night make the trial of
it." The subject was now dropt, and the conversation turned to other
matters.

After the old gentleman's return, a few days passed before any further
mention was made of the tower-chamber; for, in the first place, every
one was fully occupied in devising, setting forth, and passing judgment
on the several ways by which Black Mads might have been captured, as
well as in forming the most plausible conjectures as to his actual
whereabout; and, secondly, much time was consumed in accurately and
circumstantially describing the two days' sport at Rydhauge. This
copious topic being also exhausted,--that is, when the history of each
bird, hit or missed, had been related, satisfactory reasons alleged for
each miss, sagacious comparisons made between dogs and guns, &c.
&c.,--Froeken Mette began to lead the conversation to the subject of the
haunted chamber, by informing her father of the night passed therein by
her intended; at the same time playfully directing his attention to the
seriousness of the latter. In this second examination he had two
inquisitors to answer, of whom the young lady pressed him so
unmercifully by her arch bantering, that he at length found it advisable
to recall his former denial, and confess that he was not particularly
desirous of