"Oh!" exclaimed Clara. As she spoke up came the sounds of the falling basin, as it struck upon the gravel walk, and was shivered to atoms. Then came the sound of a hurried step upon the path, the rush of a heavy body through the shrubbery, all as plain as could be in the still night, and I knew that Clara had very nearly thrown the basin on poor Achille's head, and it might have killed him. When as if that was not enough to frighten him away, there were two windows thrown open on the first floor, and at one was Miss Furness, ringing a bell and Miss Sloman screaming, and at the other my Lady Blunt, springing a watchman's rattle, and making the most horrible din imaginable. "Well, I really did not mean to do it, dear," said Clara, as coolly as could be; "you see, the basin was soapy, and slipped." "What did you do it at all for, when you were asked not?" I gasped angrily; for it was really enough to drive any one out of her senses to be disappointed like this, time after time. All I hoped was, that poor Achille had escaped safely, and did not know from which window the missile came; for, only fancy, he might have thought that I had thrown it, and never forgiven me. You never could have imagined such a disturbance to have proceeded from so small a cause. There were doors opening and shutting, girls screaming, bells ringing; and there we all were, at last, trembling and shaking upon the staircase and landings--all but Patty Smith, who would not get out of bed. "Dere's de police!" exclaimed the Fraulein, all at once; and directly after we could hear Mrs Blunt and Miss Furness talking to some one out of their windows; while now there was a profound silence fallen upon the shivering group, and I shuddered as I recognised the deep-toned voice out of doors, and knew it to be that of one familiar with the interior of the grounds. "Search the garden thoroughly, policeman," cried Mrs Blunt, from one window. "Who's there?" squealed Miss Furness, loudly. "Why, it's me, mum," said the policeman. "Oh, yes--I know, my good man," said Miss Furness; "but I mean who was out there?" "I'm going to look, aint I?" growled the man. "But there aint nobody out here now, even if there was at all. I aint seen anybody in the road." I did feel so glad to hear what he said, for I was all in a shiver lest my poor boy should be caught. "He's gone, mum," said the low fellow, after he had been away about five minutes. "Aint not a soul 'cept me in the garding. What had he been up to, mum?" "Oh, it was a dreadful noise out there," cried Mrs Blunt, from behind the curtains. "It sounded like some one smashing in the dining-room windows. Pray look, policeman." All this conversation sounded quite plain to us on the stairs, for Mrs Blunt's door and window were both open; and then I could hear the policeman's heavy step on the gravel, crunching and crackling as he trod on and began kicking about the pieces of Clara's broken basin.