Silence. He mounted the rounds to the window, which he found
unfastened. In another moment he was in the room. Not an object
could he see, so deep was the darkness. If he moved without
light he was likely to stumble, and heydey to his fifty crowns,
not to say his liberty for many days to come. He carefully drew
the blinds and struck a match. The first object which met his
gaze was a fallen candle. This he lit and when the glare of the
flame softened, all the corners of the room stood out. Nowhere
was there any sign of a gun. He gave vent to a half-muttered
curse. Some one had pilfered the gun, or the proprietor was
keeping it until the Englishman returned from the duchy. But he
remembered that there were two guns, one of which the Englishman
did not use in the hunting expeditions.
So he began a thorough search. It meant fifty crowns, green
baize and the whims of fortune. Cautiously he moved between the
fallen chairs. He looked behind the bed, under the dresser, but
without success. His hand closed savagely around the candle, and
he swore inaudibly. He threw back the bed coverings, not that he
expected to find anything, but because he could vent his rage on
these silent, noiseless things.
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