"I? Why, pray? Coolness because I went to kill a fox? But what are you thinking of, my friend?" And we quietly made our way across the park. All the household slept. The full moon seemed to give a yellow tint to the old gloomy building, whose slate roof glittered brightly. The two turrets that flanked it had two plates of light on their summits, and no noise disturbed the silence of this clear, sad night, sweet and still, which seemed in a death-trance. Not a breath of air, not a shriek from a toad, not a hoot from an owl; a melancholy numbness lay heavy on everything. When we were under the trees in the park, a sense of freshness stole over me, together with the odor of fallen leaves. My husband said nothing; but he was listening, he was watching, he seemed to be smelling about in the shadows, possessed from head to foot by the passion for the chase. We soon reached the edges of the ponds. Their tufts of rushes remained motionless; not a breath of air caressed it; but movements which were scarcely perceptible ran through the water. Sometimes the surface was stirred by something, and light circles gathered around, like luminous wrinkles enlarging indefinitely. When we reached the hut where we were to lie in wait, my husband made me go in first; then he slowly loaded his gun, and the dry cracking of the powder produced a strange effect on me. He saw that I was shuddering, and asked: "Does this trial happen to be quite enough for you? If so, go back." I was much surprised, and I replied: "Not at all. I did not come to go back without doing anything. You seem queer this evening." He murmured, "As you wish," and we remained there without moving. At the end of about half-an-hour, as nothing broke the oppressive stillness of this bright autumn night, I said, in a low tone: "Are you quite sure he is passing this way?" Herve winced as if I had bitten him, and with his mouth close to my ear, he said: "Make no mistake about it. I am quite sure." And once more there was silence. I believe I was beginning to get drowsy when my husband pressed my arm, and his voice, changed to a hiss, said: "Do you see him over there under the trees?" I looked in vain; I could distinguish nothing. And slowly Herve now cocked his gun, all the time fixing his eyes on my face. I was myself making ready to fire, and suddenly, thirty paces in front of us, appeared in the full light of the moon a man who was hurrying forward with rapid movements, his body bent, as if he were trying to escape. I was so stupefied that I uttered a loud cry; but, before I could turn round, there was a flash before my eyes; I heard a deafening report, and I saw the man rolling on the ground, like a wolf hit by a bullet.