TheysaidthissofunnilythatwebegantolaughandtoaskiftherewerethievesattheOpera。Theyrepliedthattherewassomethingworse，whichwastheGHOST。Webegantolaughagain，feelingsurethattheywereindulginginsomejokethatwasintendedtocrownourlittleentertainment。Then，attheirrequest，webecame`serious，’
resolvingtohumorthemandtoenterintothespiritofthegame。
Theytoldusthattheyneverwouldhavespokentousoftheghost，iftheyhadnotreceivedformalordersfromtheghosthimselftoaskustobepleasanttohimandtograntanyrequestthathemightmake。However，intheirreliefatleavingadomainwherethattyrannicalshadeheldsway，theyhadhesitateduntilthelastmomenttotellusthiscuriousstory，whichourskepticalmindswerecertainlynotpreparedtoentertain。ButtheannouncementofthedeathofJosephBuquethadservedthemasabrutalreminderthat，whenevertheyhaddisregardedtheghost’swishes，somefantasticordisastrouseventhadbroughtthemtoasenseoftheirdependence。
Duringtheseunexpectedutterancesmadeinatoneofthemostsecretandimportantconfidence，IlookedatRichard。Richard，inhisstudentdays，hadacquiredagreatreputationforpracticaljoking，andheseemedtorelishthedishwhichwasbeingserveduptohiminhisturn。Hedidnotmissamorselofit，thoughtheseasoningwasalittlegruesomebecauseofthedeathofBuquet。Henoddedhisheadsadly，whiletheothersspoke，andhisfeaturesassumedtheairofamanwhobitterlyregrettedhavingtakenovertheOpera，nowthatheknewthattherewasaghostmixedupinthebusiness。
Icouldthinkofnothingbetterthantogivehimaservileimitationofthisattitudeofdespair。However，inspiteofallourefforts，wecouldnot，atthefinish，helpburstingoutlaughinginthefacesofMM。DebienneandPoligny，who，seeinguspassstraightfromthegloomieststateofmindtooneofthemostinsolentmerriment，actedasthoughtheythoughtthatwehadgonemad。