The ladies had been a good deal disturbed. On the
night of the 14th, the baby was fractious, and the cook, Maria, danced
and played the harmonica to divert her. The baby fell asleep, the
wife and Mr. Shchapoff's miller's lady were engaged in conversation,
when a shadow crossed the blind on the outside. They were about to go
out and see who was passing, when they heard a double shuffle being
executed with energy in the loft overhead. They thought Maria, the
cook, was making a night of it, but found her asleep in the kitchen.
The dancing went on but nobody could be found in the loft. Then raps
began on the window panes, and so the miller and gardener patrolled
outside. Nobody!
Raps and dancing lasted through most of the night and began again at
ten in the morning. The ladies were incommoded and complained of
broken sleep. Mr. Shchapoff, hearing all this, examined the miller,
who admitted the facts, but attributed them to a pigeon's nest, which
he had found under the cornice. Satisfied with this rather elementary
hypothesis, Mr. Shchapoff sat down to read Livingstone's African
Travels.
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