About to go to bed, she wore her nightgown, her thick hair loose about her shoulders. The window casement rattled, threatening to burst open again, so she went to see that it was properly closed. Something made her open it first, though. Her hair was blown in confusion, and the rain dampened her face as she looked out. For a moment the moon shone from between the fleeing clouds, and to her shock she saw what appeared to be a statue in the rotunda, but then the moon disappeared again. She closed the window, grabbed her rose woolen wrap, and then hurried to her parents’ room, where her father’s telescope stood at the window. Opening the casement, she trained the glass upon the rotunda and saw there was indeed a statue. But how could that be? When had it been put there? Why hadn’t anything been said? Above all, why hadn’t she noticed it before? Nothing less than an immediate investigation would do, so in spite of the wildness of the night, she returned to her own room to put on her boots and cloak, then went down to the courtyard to take the old lantern that hung creaking by the main entrance, and which was always lit at nightfall.
