“Erminie, I am obliged to leave, not only this house, but this city, to-night—to leave, not only in haste, but in danger!”
“In danger!” she echoed, growing very pale.
“Yes, in danger—and as a fugitive!”
“As a fugitive! Oh, Heaven of Heavens! what has happened?” she gasped, in deadly terror for his safety.
“I have been betrayed.”
“Betrayed!”
“You do nothing but echo my words, sweet love!”
“Oh, forgive me! How can I help it? They are so strange and so alarming—your words. And I am all in a maze of bewilderment,” she faltered, trembling excessively.
“Do you not surmise what all this means, Erminie?”
“Oh, no, no, no! I dare not—I dare not! I only know whatever the mystery is, you are blameless in it.”