"Oh, no. Only a few moments. We just came to see the place."
"Well, do you think you can manage to throw the key out of the window? Then I could unlock the door for you, couldn't I?"
"Oh, thank you so very much. If you don't mind waiting a minute—er—it's so dark in here and so confusing that—"
"You don't mean to say you've lost the key?" said the girl.
"Oh, it's not lost," said Daphne. "It's just here somewhere. One of us laid it down for a moment and, really, in this darkness you can't see anything. If we only had some more matches—"
"I've got a box," I said. A long silence followed my words. Then:
"My dear lady," said Berry. "Are you still there?"
"Yes," said my companion, her voice shaking a little.
"Then I beseech you to have no dealing with the being whose vile accents I heard but a moment ago. A man of depraved instincts and profligate ways, he is no fit companion for a young and innocent girl. Moreover, viper-like, he bears malice towards us, who have shielded him for years."
"How awful," said the girl.