Suddenly the ghost understood everything that had happened. He had been tricked, his plans had failed, and the twins had been too clever for him! The old Canterville look came into his eyes; he became so angry he couldn't speak.

Then he lifted his hands hands high above his head. He promised in very old-fashioned English, that when the cock in the farm nearby had crowed twice, that he would have his bloody revenge, and people in the house would die.

He had just finished making this terrible promise when the cock crowed from the roof of the farmhouse. The ghost laughed a long, angry laugh, and waited. He waited for hours, but the cock did not crow again. The ghost could not understand it. Finally, at half-past seven, the servants started to clean the house, so he had to go away.

He walked angrily back to his room, wondering why he had been stopped from doing the terrible things that he had promised. There he checked in several books about what should have happened. (He had a lot of books about things like that.)

The books said that the cock had always crowed a second time, every time this promise of revenge had been made.

'May the devil take the naughty bird,' the ghost said to himself, 'there was once a time when I would have stabbed that cock through the throat with my spear, and made him crow for me while he was dying!' Then the ghost got into a comfortable lead coffin, and stayed there till evening.