"Kneel," commanded the hoarse voice of Skull, in which Connie could faintly distinguish the tone of Lark.
She knelt,—an abject quivering neophyte.
"Hear the will of Skull and Crossbones," chanted Crossbones in a shrill monotone.
Then Skull took up the strain once more. "Skull and Crossbones, great in mercy and in condescension, has listened graciously to the prayer of Constance, the Seeker. Hear the will of the Great Spirit! If the Seeker will, for the length of two weeks, submit herself to the will of Skull and Crossbones, she shall be admitted into the Ancient and Honorable Order. If the Seeker accepts this condition, she must bow herself to the ground three times, in token of submission."
"There's no ground here," came a small faint voice from the kneeling Seeker.
"The floor, madam," Skull explained sternly. "If the Seeker accepts the condition,—to submit herself absolutely to the will of Skull and Crossbones for two entire weeks,—she shall bow herself three times."
Constance hesitated. It was so grandly expressed that she hardly understood what they wanted. Carol came to her rescue.
"That means you've got to do everything Lark and I tell you for two weeks," she said in her natural voice.
Then Constance bowed herself three times,—although she lost her balance in the act, and Carol forgot her dignity and gave way to laughter, swiftly subdued, however.
"Arise and approach the altar," she commanded in the shrill voice, which yet gave signs of laughter.