Presently
he reached a height in the forest, and from this height, he saw, not
very far away, a black turret rising over the ocean of bright leaves. At
high noon he arrived at the castle. It was ruinous and quite deserted;
grass grew in the courtyard and between the bricks of the terrace, and
the oaken door was as soft and rotten as a log that has long been buried
in mire.
Entering the castle, the hunter soon discovered the round room. A table
laden with wonderful treasures stood in the centre of the chamber,
directly under a shower of sunlight pouring through a half-ruined window
in the mildewed wall. How the diamonds and precious stones sparkled and
gleamed!
Now, while the hunter was filling his pockets, the flash of a jewel
lying on the floor happened to catch his eye, and looking down, he saw
that a kind of trail of jewels lay along the floor leading out of the
room. Following the scattered gems,--which had the appearance of having
been spilled from some treasure-casket heaped too high,--the hunter came
to a low door, and opening this door, he discovered a flight of stone
steps leading to the turret.
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