"
"His deeds certainly proclaim him as such, your ladyship."
"How do _you_ explain the mystery of the veiled lady?"
"I cannot explain it, your ladyship; she is never mentioned in our
correspondence."
"She may be a prisoner, detained at the castle by force."
"That cannot be; for she has a hundred opportunities to escape, or to
ask for help."
Here the surveyor managed to express his belief that the reason the lady
wore a veil was because of the repulsiveness of her face.
At this, a voice that had not yet been heard said, at the lower end of
the table:
"But the lady is one the most beautiful creatures I ever saw--and quite
young."
Every eye was turned toward the speaker.
"What? Audiat? How dares he say such a thing?" demanded the
vice-palatine.
"Because I have seen her."
"You have seen her? When did you see her? Where did you see her--her
whom no one yet has seen?"
"When I was returning from college last year, _per pedes apostolorum_,
for my money had given out, and my knapsack was empty. I was picking
hazelnuts from the bushes in the park of the Nameless Castle, when I
heard a window open.
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