"I sent him up to the drawing-room to look for a book. He will look for a few minutes. Listen. He's an innocent boy. He sees me only as a gentle angel. Nothing will SHAKE him so much as to hear me tell him the truth suddenly. It will be such a shock to him that perhaps you can do something with him then. He may lose his hold on himself. He's only a boy."
"You're right," said the bearded man. "And when he finds out he is not free to go, it may alarm him and we may get something worth while."
"If we could find out what is true, or what Loristan thinks is true, we should have a clue to work from," she said.
"We have not much time," the man whispered. "We are ordered to Bosnia at once. Before midnight we must be on the way."
"Let us go into the other room. He is coming."
When Marco entered the room, the heavily-built man with the pointed dark beard was standing by the easy-chair.
"I am sorry I could not find the book," he apologized. "I looked on all the tables."
"I shall be obliged to go and search for it myself," said the Lovely Person.
She rose from her chair and stood up smiling. And at her first movement Marco saw that she was not disabled in the least.
"Your foot!" he exclaimed. "It's better?"