“Your lackey must have been bribed.”
“Impossible, sire; for if he had been bribed, those who did so would not have sacrificed the poor fellow, whom, it is not unlikely, they might want to turn to further use by and by, in showing so clearly that it was he whom they had made use of.”
“Quite true. And now I can only form one conjecture.”
“Tell me what it is, sire, and we shall see if it is the same that has presented itself to my mind.”
“That he effected an entrance by means of the staircase.”
“Alas, sire, that seems to me more than probable.”
“There is no doubt that some one must have sold the secret of the trap-door.”
“Either sold it or given it.”
“Why do you make that distinction?”
“Because there are certain persons, sire, who, being above the price of treason, give, and do not sell.”