You can guess how we were leaning forward, listening breathless to this narrative. I fancied I could see her sitting there in the darkness, with Silva's evil influence visibly about her, but held at bay by her resolute innocence, as Christian's shield of Faith turned aside the darts of Apollyon. It was, indeed, a battle of good and evil, the more terrible because it was fought, not with bodily weapons, but with spiritual ones.
"At last, Señor Silva rose again," Miss Vaughan continued, "and turned on the lights, and I shivered when I met his gaze.
"'You are defying me,' he said, very low. 'But I will break you yet,' and he clapped his hands softly together.
"I knew that I was lost"
"Mahbub appeared at the inner door, received a sharp order, and disappeared again. A moment later, there was a little swirl of smoke from the door of his room, and a sharp, over-powering odour, which turned me faint.
"And then Señor Silva, who had been pacing, up and down the room, stopped suddenly and looked at me, his face distorted.
"'Is it that?' he muttered. 'Can it be that?'
"And he strode to the curtain which hung before his secret cupboard and swept it back.