Suddenly, the trapdoor was closed and so quickly that they did not even see the hand that worked it; and they remained quite dazed.

“Perhaps he was there,” Raoul said, at last.

She shrugged her shoulders, but did not seem easy.

“No, no, it was the ‘trapdoor-shutters.’ They must do something, you know.⁠ ⁠… They open and shut the trapdoors without any particular reason.⁠ ⁠… It’s like the ‘door-shutters:’ they must spend their time somehow.”

“But suppose it were he , Christine?”

“No, no! He has shut himself up, he is working.”

“Oh, really! He’s working, is he?”