"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Bernat bácsi. "And this enchanting fairy opened the window to show her lovely face to Audiat!" "No; she did not open the window on my account," retorted the young man, "but for the beasts that were luckier than I--for four cats that were playing in the gutter of the roof; a white one, a black one, a yellow one, and a gray one; and all of them scampered toward her when they heard her call." "The cats are her only companions--that much we know from the servants," affirmed the justice. The laurels which his clerk had won made the vice-palatine jealous. "Audiat," he said, in a reproving tone, "you ought to learn that a young person should speak only when spoken to; indeed,--as the learned Professor Hatvani says,--even then it is not necessary to answer all questions." But the company around the dinner-table did not share these views. The clerk was assailed on all sides--very much as would have been an aëronaut who had just alighted from a montgolfier--to relate all that he had seen in those regions not yet penetrated by man. What sort of gown did the mysterious lady wear? Was he certain that she had no cap on? Was she really no older than fifteen years? The vice-palatine at last put an end to his clerk's triumph. "Tut, tut! what can you expect to learn from a mere lad like him?--when he saw her only for an instant! Just wait; _I_ will find out all about this nameless gentleman and lady." "Pray how do you propose to accomplish that?" queried the baroness, who had returned to her former seat. "I shall go to the Nameless Castle." "Suppose you are not permitted to enter?" "What? _I_, the vice-palatine, not permitted to enter? Wait; I will explain my plan to you over the coffee." When the time came to serve the black coffee, the amiable hostess suggested that it would be pleasant to enjoy it in the open air; whereupon the company repaired to the veranda where, on several small tables, the fragrant mocha was steaming in the cups. Here the baroness and the vice-palatine seated themselves where they could look directly at the Nameless Castle; and Herr Bernat Görömbölyi proceeded to explain how he intended to take the castle without force--which was forbidden a Hungarian official. Then the two ladies withdrew to make their toilets for the evening; and the gentlemen betook themselves to the smoking-room, to indulge in a little game of chance, without which no "installation" ceremony would have been complete. CHAPTER III The following morning, after a very satisfactory breakfast, the gentlemen took leave of their amiable hostess, Bernat bácsi lingering behind the rest to whisper significantly: