"Oscar Wilde. The Canterville Ghost" - читать интересную книгу автора

glided on more swiftly, and Virginia did not listen. When they reached the
end of the room he stopped, and muttered some words she could not
understand. She opened her eyes, and saw the wall slowly fading away like a
mist, and a great black cavern in front of her. A bitter cold wind swept
round them, and she felt something pulling at her dress. "Quick,
quick," cried the ghost, "or it will be too late," and, in a
moment, the wainscoting had closed behind them, and the Tapestry Chamber was
empty.


VI

About ten minutes later, the bell rang for tea, and, as Virginia did
not come down, Mrs. Otis sent up one of the footmen to tell her. After a
little time he returned and said that he could not find Miss Virginia
anywhere. As she was in the habit of going out to the garden every evening
to get flowers for the dinner-table, Mrs. Otis was not at all alarmed at
first, but when six o'clock struck, and Virginia did not appear, she became
really agitated, and sent the boys out to look for her, while she herself
and Mr. Otis searched every room in the house. At half-past six the boys
came back and said that they could find no trace of their sister anywhere.
They were all now in the greatest state of exitement, and did not know what
to do, when Mr. Otis suddenly remembered that, some few days before, he had
given a band of gipsies permission to camp in the park. He accordingly at
once set off for Blackfell Hollow, where he knew they were, accompanied by
his eldest son and two of the farm-servants. The little Duke of Cheshire,
who was perfectly frantic with anxiety, begged hard to be allowed to go too,
but Mr. Otis would not allow him, as he was afraid there might be a scuffle.
On arriving at the spot, however, he found that the gipsies had gone, and it
was evident that their departure had been rather sudden, as the fire was
still burning, and some plates were lying on the grass. Having sent off
Washington and the two men to scour the district, he ran home, and
despatched telegrams to all the police inspectors in the country, telling
them to look out for a little girl who had been kidnapped by tramps or
gipsies. He then ordered his horse to be brought round, and, after insisting
on his wife and the three boys sitting down to dinner, rode off down the
Ascot road with a groom. He had hardly, however, gone a couple of miles,
when he heard somebody galloping after him, and, looking round, saw the
little Duke coming up on his pony, with his face very flushed and no hat.
"I'm awfully sorry, Mr. Otis," gasped out the boy, "but I
can't eat any dinner as long as Virginia is lost. Please, don't be angry
with me; if you had let us be engaged last year, there would never have been
all this trouble. You won't send me back, will you? I can't go! I won't
go!"
The Minister could not help smiling at the handsome young scapegrace,
and was a good deal touched at his devotion to Virginia, so leaning down
from his horse, he patted him kindly on the shoulders, and said, "Well,
Cecil, if you won't go back I suppose you must come with me, but I must get
you a hat at Ascot."
"Oh, bother my hat! I want Virginia!" cried the little Duke,