'Tell me,' said she, suddenly, and after a long pause, 'are ye brother and sister?'
'No,' said Ione, blushing.
'Are ye married?'
'Not so,' replied Glaucus.
'Ho, lovers!—ha!—ha!—ha!' and the witch laughed so loud and so long that the caverns rang again.
The heart of Ione stood still at that strange mirth. Glaucus muttered a rapid counterspell to the omen—and the slave turned as pale as the cheek of the witch herself.
'Why dost thou laugh, old crone?' said Glaucus, somewhat sternly, as he concluded his invocation.
'Did I laugh?' said the hag, absently.
'She is in her dotage,' whispered Glaucus: as he said this, he caught the eye of the hag fixed upon him with a malignant and vivid glare.
'Thou liest!' said she, abruptly.