it came among them like a flash of fire, they say, and they all fell down in a row, till they came to themselves again; and then it was gone, and nothing to be seen but the old castle walls; so they helped one another up again as fast as they could.you would not believe, ma'amselle, though i shewed you the very cannon, where it used to appear.'
'and are you, indeed, so simple, annette,' said emily, smiling at this curious exaggeration of the circumstances she had witnessed, 'as to credit these stories?'
'credit them, ma'amselle! why all the world could not persuade me out of them.roberto and sebastian and half a dozen more of them went into fits! to be sure, there was no occasion for that; i said, myself, there was no need of that, for, says i, when the enemy comes, what a pretty figure they will cut, if they are to fall down in fits, all of a row! the enemy won't be so civil, perhaps, as to walk off, like the ghost, and leave them to help one another up, but will fall to, cutting and slashing, till he makes them all rise up dead men.
no, no, says i, there is reason in all things: though i might have fallen down in a fit that was no rule for them, being, because it is no business of mine to look gruff, and fight battles.'
emily endeavoured to correct the superstitious weakness of annette, though she could not entirely subdue her own; to which the latter only replied, 'nay, ma'amselle, you will believe nothing; you are almost as bad as the signor himself, who was in a great passion when they told of what had happened, and swore that the first man, who repeated such nonsense, should be thrown into the dungeon under the east turret.this was a hard punishment too, for only talking nonsense, as he called it, but i dare say he had other reasons for calling it so, than you have, ma'am.'
emily looked displeased, and made no reply.as she mused upon the recollected appearance, which had lately so much alarmed her, and considered the circumstances of the figure having stationed itself opposite to her casement, she was for a moment inclined to believe it was valancourt, whom she had seen.yet, if it was he, why did he not speak to her, when he had the opportunity of doing so--and, if he was a prisoner in the castle, and he could be here in no other character, how could he obtain the means of walking abroad on the rampart? thus she was utterly unable to decide, whether the musician and the form she had observed, were the same, or, if they were, whether this was valancourt.she, however, desired that annette would endeavour to learn whether any prisoners were in the castle, and also their names.