“These are the Invisibles.”
“Yes; I do not believe in them, though.”
“When you open this box, you will.”
“Let us look into it then,” he said, taking the casket from her; but, reflecting, he placed it on his desk. “No, I would rather you opened it yourself,” he added with distrust.
“I have not the key,” she replied.
“Not got the key? you bring me a box containing the fate of an empire and you forget the key?”
“Is it so hard to open a lock?”
“Not when one knows the sort it is.”
He held out to her a bunch of keys in every shape. As she took it, he noticed that her hand was cold as stone.
“Why did you not bring the key with you?” he asked.