"it was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled about looking for matches and muttering under his breath. suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. it grew broader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us. i could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which the light shone upon her dark dress i knew that it was a rich material. she spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly fell from her hand. colonel stark went up to her, whispered something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the room from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the lamp in his hand.