“Is Buquet dead?” they cried
“Yes,” replied the man, or the shadow of a man, quietly. “He was found this evening, hanging in the third cellar”
The two retiring managers rose and stared strangely at the speaker. They were very excited and both men turned white. Monsieur Debienne made a sign to Monsieur Richard and Monsieur Moncharmin; Monsieur Poligny excused himself and the other three men. They went into the managers’ office.
I shall leave Monsieur Moncharmin to complete the strory. In his Memories, he says:
Monsieur Debienne and Monsieur Poligny seemed to grow more and more excited, and they appeared to have something very difficult to tell us. First, they asked if we knew the man, sitting at the end of the table, who had told them of the death of Joseph Buquet. When we answered in the negatine, they looked even more anxious. They took the keys from our hands, stared at them for a moment, and advised us to have new locks made. They said this in such a funny way that we began to laugh and to ask if there were thieves at the Opera. They replied that there was something worse—a ghost. We began to laugh again, feeling sure that this was a joke intended for our evening’s entertainment.
Then, at their request, we became “serious,” deciding to let them play their little game. They said that the ghost had given them order. He wanted us to be pleasant to him and to honor any request he might make. Then they told us that the death of Joseph Buquet was a terrible reminder that, whenever they ignored the ghost’s requests, disaster struck.
I looked at Richard. He was a man who loved a joke. He nodded his head sadly while the others spoke, and he looked like a man who regretted taking this job of manager. We both burst out laughing Monsieur Debienne and Monsieur Poligny looked at us with expressions of amazement
The joke became a little boring, and Richard asked half-seriously and half-jokingly, “But what does this ghost of yours want?”
“Is Buquet dead?” they cried
“Yes,” replied the man, or the shadow of a man, quietly. “He was found this evening, hanging in the third cellar”
The two retiring managers rose and stared strangely at the speaker. They were very excited and both men turned white. Monsieur Debienne made a sign to Monsieur Richard and Monsieur Moncharmin; Monsieur Poligny excused himself and the other three men. They went into the managers’ office.
I shall leave Monsieur Moncharmin to complete the strory. In his Memories, he says:
Monsieur Debienne and Monsieur Poligny seemed to grow more and more excited, and they appeared to have something very difficult to tell us. First, they asked if we knew the man, sitting at the end of the table, who had told them of the death of Joseph Buquet. When we answered in the negatine, they looked even more anxious. They took the keys from our hands, stared at them for a moment, and advised us to have new locks made. They said this in such a funny way that we began to laugh and to ask if there were thieves at the Opera. They replied that there was something worse—a ghost. We began to laugh again, feeling sure that this was a joke intended for our evening’s entertainment.
Then, at their request, we became “serious,” deciding to let them play their little game. They said that the ghost had given them order. He wanted us to be pleasant to him and to honor any request he might make. Then they told us that the death of Joseph Buquet was a terrible reminder that, whenever they ignored the ghost’s requests, disaster struck.
I looked at Richard. He was a man who loved a joke. He nodded his head sadly while the others spoke, and he looked like a man who regretted taking this job of manager. We both burst out laughing Monsieur Debienne and Monsieur Poligny looked at us with expressions of amazement
The joke became a little boring, and Richard asked half-seriously and half-jokingly, “But what does this ghost of yours want?”
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