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303
The Book of Dreams and Ghosts
·
Andrew Lang
199
THE
DANCING
DEVIL
On
16th
November,
1870,
Mr.
Shchapoff,
a
Russian
squire,
the
narrator,
came
home
from
a
visit
to
a
country
town,
Iletski,
and
found
his
family
in
some
disarray.
There
lived
with
him
his
mother
and
his
wife's
mother,
ladies
of
about
sixty-nine,
his
wife,
aged
twenty,
and
his
baby
daughter.
The
ladies
had
been
a
good
deal
disturbed.
On
the
night
of
the
14th,
the
baby
was
fractious,
and
the
cook,
Maria,
danced
and
played
the
harmonica
to
divert
her.
The
baby
fell
asleep,
the
wife
and
Mr.
Shchapoff's
miller's
lady
were
engaged
in
conversation,
when
a
shadow
crossed
the
blind
on
the
outside.
They
were
about
to
go
out
and
see
who
was
passing,
when
they
heard
a
double
shuffle
being
executed
with
energy
in
the
loft
overhead.
They
thought
Maria,
the
cook,
was
making
a
night
of
it,
but
found
her
asleep
in
the
kitchen.
The
dancing
went
on
but
nobody
could
be
found
in
the
loft.
Then
raps
began
on
the
window
panes,
and
so
the
miller
and
gardener
patrolled
outside.
Nobody!
Raps
and
dancing
lasted
through
most
of
the
night
and
began
again
at
ten
in
the
morning.
The
ladies
were
incommoded
and
complained
of
broken
sleep.
Mr.
Shchapoff,
hearing
all
this,
examined
the
miller,
who
admitted
the
facts,
but
attributed
them
to
a
pigeon's
nest,
which
he
had
found
under
the
cornice.
Satisfied
with
this
rather
elementary
hypothesis,
Mr.
Shchapoff
sat
down
to
read
Livingstone's
African
Travels.
Presently
the
double
shuffle
sounded
in
the
loft.
Mrs.
Shchapoff
was
asleep
in
her
bedroom,
but
was
awakened
by
loud
raps.
The
window
was
tapped
at,
deafening
thumps
were
dealt
at
the
outer
wall,
and
the
whole
house
thrilled.
Mr.
Shchapoff
rushed
out
with
dogs
and
a
gun,
there
were
no
footsteps
in
the
snow,
the
air
was
still,
the
full
moon
rode
in
a
serene
sky.
Mr.
Shchapoff
came
back,
and
the
double
shuffle
was
sounding
merrily
in
the
empty
loft.
Next
day
was
no
better,
but
the
noises
abated
and
ceased
gradually.
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