“What do you mean by that?” he asked calmly.
“You know what I mean,” replied the count with a sneer.
He turned again to the Grand Duke. “Has it never occurred to you, Your Excellency, that these boys may be associated with the bandit–that they may have been leading you on.”
“But, but,” stammered the Grand Duke, “their mission to the Carpathians. Their struggle to get away and their flight. What of those?”
“Mere fiction, I should say,” said the count with a shrug of his shoulders.
Hal stepped directly in front of the count.
“That is a lie,” he said quietly.
The count raised a hand as if to strike him, then thought better of it and turned away without a word. Plainly the count’s words had made an impression upon the Grand Duke. He looked at the two lads closely.
“What have you to say to that charge?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” replied Chester, “except that it is too absurd to be given credence.”