“I’ve simply tried to expose the human whelps who seek to murder me!”
“It is enough. By that you have added to the peril that besets you. At any time destruction may swoop down upon you. Heed my warning. Fly from France!”
“Oh, I rather think you are making this thing much worse than it really is.”
“Not the least.”
“If I am slain by the Black Brothers, I have friends who will take my place in the work of hunting the dastardly band down.”
“There will be no proof that you are slain by them. Remember how others have fallen. There were no marks of violence on them. The thought should chill your heart with terror. I tell you to go, Monsieur Merriwell. I beg you to go. It is your only way to escape death. You must listen to me.”
She leaned on the table, all eagerness and excitement, her eyes dancing. Somehow those eyes made Frank think of a snake. They seemed to fascinate him.
“Tell me why you are so eager for me to go?” he asked.
“I cannot tell you, save that I am earnest, for I know what it means to you. Promise me you will drop this Dreyfus affair and leave the country. If you do that, your life may be spared. If you do not promise, your doom is sealed, and death may swoop down on you at any moment.”
“It is remarkable that you should know so much about me, a stranger, and take so much interest in me. I believe you must somehow get close to the Black Brothers. Can you deny it?”