"Curse you for a fool!" hissed Marlanx through his teeth. As another
hireling came up. "What have you got to say?"
The man reported that Baldos had been seen on the balcony alone,
evidently on watch.
Marlanx ground his teeth and his blood stormed his reason. "The job must
be done to-night. You have your instructions. Capture him if possible;
but if necessary, kill him. You know your fate, if you fail." Marlanx
actually grinned at the thought of the punishment he would mete out to
them. "Now be off!"
Rashly he made his way to the castle front. A bright moon cast its
mellow glow over the mass of stone outlined against the western sky. For
an hour he glowered in the shade of the trees, giving but slight heed to
the guards who passed from time to time. His eyes never left the
enchanted balcony.
At last he saw the man. Baldos came from the floor at the end of the
balcony, paced the full length in the moonlight, paused for a moment
near Beverly Calhoun's window and then disappeared through the same door
that had afforded him egress.
Inside the dark castle the clock at the end of the hall melodiously
boomed the hour of two. Dead quiet followed the soft echoes of the
gong. A tall figure stealthily opened the door to Yetive's chapel and
stepped inside. There was a streak of moonlight through the clear window
at the far end of the room. Baldos, his heart beating rapidly, stood
still for a moment, awaiting the next move in the game. The ghost-like
figure of a woman suddenly stood before him in the path of the moonbeam,
a hooded figure in dark robes. He started as if confronted by the
supernatural.
"Come," came in an agitated whisper, and he stepped to the side of the
phantom. She turned and the moonlight fell upon the face of Beverly
Calhoun, "Don't speak. Follow me as quickly as you can."
He grasped her arm, bringing her to a standstill.
"I have changed my mind," he whispered in her ear. "Do you think I will
run away and leave you to shoulder the blame for all this? On the
balcony near your window an hour ago I--"
"It doesn't make any difference," she argued. "You have to go. I want
you to go. If you knew just how I feel toward you you would go without a
murmur."
"You mean that you hate me," he groaned.
"I wouldn't be so unkind as to say that," she fluttered. "I don't know
who you are. Come; we can't delay a minute. I have a key to the gate at
the other end of the passage and I know where the secret panel is
located. Hush! It doesn't matter where I got the key. See! See how easy
it is?"